


See it to believe it, but believing is everything

by pompomshoes



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Arranged Marriage, Cuddling & Snuggling, Drunken Kissing, M/M, Mind Reading, Requited Unrequited Love, Soul Bond, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Telepathic Bond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:15:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 33,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23180788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pompomshoes/pseuds/pompomshoes
Summary: Sho has always thought that the whole soulmate thing is just bullshit. This illegible writing on his wrist, that is supposed to be someone's signature? It means nothing. He's got plans for himself, so screw destiny! That is, until destiny comes to knock at his door first thing in the morning. Literally.
Relationships: Aiba Masaki & Sakurai Sho, Aiba Masaki/Kazama Shunsuke, Matsumoto Jun/Sakurai Sho, Ninomiya Kazunari/Ohno Satoshi
Comments: 11
Kudos: 95
Collections: Hi-ho! I'm your aibou!





	See it to believe it, but believing is everything

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lookslikerain](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lookslikerain/gifts).



> Awfully delayed, I'm so sorry, but I hope it'll be worth the wait? (Thank you, mod, for your patience...)  
> It's a soulmate story. I tried not to make it too sappy, but whether I succeeded or not is a completely different story. Oops.  
> The rating would have been "Teen and Up" if not for a certain scene...  
> Enjoy!

December 3rd, 2014. 

Sakurai Sho's twelve thousandth day of life. 

He hasn't been keeping a count. He knows some people do, that they're outright _obsessed_ with it. The last century has seen the rise of a new industry that caters to the 'believers'. Technology has made it so much easier for these nutjobs to keep a track of how many days they've lived. There are tons of devices: watches and bracelets that show a constant countdown, special alarms that go off every thousand days to let them know it's coming. Some parents get their children to wear them before they can even understand why it's such a big deal. 

For the record, it's not. 

It's just the day that their soulmate's signature appears on their left wrist. Or the right one, if their soulmate reaches the twelve thousandth day earlier. Not that it matters because, according to recent studies, less than sixty percent of people get to meet their soulmate before their mark turns red, then pink, and then fades away completely around a year after their soulmate's demise. 

(There's a reason he knows that information despite not having any interest in the topic. But more on that later.) 

He's always thought that the whole soulmate thing is just bullshit. The idea that the universe or whatever controls it has destined them to have a _true companion_ in life, who would not only be their perfect match but also that they'd have a _telepathic_ bond with them, something that went beyond normal human senses and capacity? 

Yeah, right. No way he's going to believe that. If it was so, then why do so many people die without ever knowing their soulmate? 

The way Sho sees it, the reason is very simple: you can be happy without ever meeting your soulmate. Case closed. 

The nutjobs claim that soulmates can read each other's minds and emotions, that they can even know where exactly their soulmate is at any given moment if they focus enough. Not only it sounds creepy, but Sho suspects they might be high. Besides, how does that improve anyone's life? 

Again, Sho fails to see the supposed benefits of it. 

His parents aren't soulmates. The signatures that appeared on their wrists were in languages that neither of them could understand. Plus, they were already married _and_ had three children by the time both of them got their soulmate marks. No way they were just going to abandon their family to go looking for someone who might be at the other side of the world for all they knew. Things were fine between them anyway. 

Of course, now that they're getting divorced, _everyone_ says it's because they aren't soulmates. Never mind that they still have a good relationship, that they're just doing it to keep it that way because they both agree they'll end up hating each other if they don't. Their careers have always been more important anyway. 

The Sakurai family is, sadly, riddled with 'believers' who _did_ wait until meeting their soulmates to get married. This is why Sho is the eldest grandson on his mother's side of the family, even though she isn't the eldest out of six siblings. 

(Yes, his dad took his mother's name when they got married, which made their marriage all the more _scandalous_ at the time. Her family is way more affluent, so Sho can see why he agreed to it. Not to mention his father's family are, to put it lightly, _assholes_.) 

"You should reconsider your decision to get an arranged marriage," Sho has been told by some relatives. "This will be you in thirty years if you don't stop now." 

Right. So he's supposed to, what, wait forever until he meets his soulmate? No way. 

(His relatives got pretty mad at him when he searched some statistics, just to have some comebacks during a family reunion to celebrate his grandparents' anniversary. Even his mom and dad thought he took it too far. His grandparents are soulmates after all!) 

Both Sho and his future husband, Aiba Masaki, belong to powerful families. The Aiba Group and Sakurai Group are looking into doing business together, hinting at the possibility of a merger if the Aiba family's heir gets married to the Sakurai family's heir (that'd be Sho, his mother's two older brothers have no children) next year. 

Now, _that's_ a pretty good deal in Sho's opinion. Both groups have multiple businesses in industries that complement each other pretty well. It could be very profitable. He knows his grandpa, uncles, and aunts also think the same, that they're just disapproving based on _utter unscientific nonsense._ Whatever. 

Sho is thirty-two years old now. He thinks it's a good age to start looking for a long-term relationship, preferably with a partner of _his_ choice, not the universe's. When he met Aiba Masaki, he felt that they were a perfect match, or at least the closest thing to it. Neither of them believes in all that soulmate crap, so they decided to go ahead with the marriage plans, leaving a few months to get to know each other better. So far, it's been ideal, even though they've only met in person four or five times. 

It's a win-win for everyone. Sho gets to marry a guy he likes, and the Sakurai Group and Aiba Group have their merge. It couldn't be any more perfect. 

Nothing will ruin Sho's plans, not even the black splotches that appear on his wrist that December morning. 

He is a bit confused when he first spots it. He mistakes it for actual ink since he was practicing traditional calligraphy with his mother last night. She's been asking him to do more things together since the divorce talks with his father started. 

But it's not ink. It doesn't go away when he washes his wrist with soap and rubs it forcefully. He frowns at it, wondering where he could have possibly gotten it. 

It's only when he's getting dressed that he realizes what it is. He takes a look at it and snorts. 

"How am I supposed to know whose signature is this? It's unreadable!" 

The more he observes it, however, the more he thinks he's seen it somewhere. 

He doesn't pay much mind and continues getting ready for work. He's going to put on his watch on the left wrist, as usual, but stops himself. It would cover the mark if he did, and he's heard that covering a soulmate mark isn't good unless it's with something your soulmate gives you. 

"Nonsense," he mutters to himself. Granny Sakurai is getting inside his head. He still wears the watch on the right hand just for today. 

He drives to work after having a quick breakfast, just like he does every morning. He works for one of the Sakurai family's companies, dedicated to event production. It's relatively new, compared to their other businesses. It's also the one that the Aiba Group is most interested in, as far as he's heard. Sho's mother, the current Sakurai Group's CEO, is also the director of this company. She started it herself after all. 

(Sho's mother's older brothers are not businessmen. One is a novelist, the other one is a doctor.) 

When Sho comes into his office, he sees the pile of paperwork waiting for him. Great. Before he can get started with it, there's an angry knock on the door. He opens it and finds himself face to face with Matsumoto Jun. 

They do _not_ get along. At all. Matsumoto is the company's lead creative producer and the biggest pain in Sho's ass. Sho's mother thinks they make a good team for some reason (most probably because Sho is the only one brave enough to tell Matsumoto that he's out of his mind when his plans get too wild). Therefore, they always end up stuck working together. It's a real nightmare. 

"We need to talk," Matsumoto says, and Sho can feel his head starting to throb. 

"Can't we do this later?" Sho asks. 

"No," Matsumoto replies, folding his arms across his chest. "It's urgent." 

Sho lets him in and locks the door. He doesn't want anyone to hear if they start yelling at each other. That happens a lot, the last time they kind of traumatized a poor newbie. 

"Okay. What do you want?" 

Matsumoto looks at him angrily, his thick eyebrows almost meeting in the middle. His lips are forming a pout, which isn't that much of a strange sight for Sho, but he's never seen Matsumoto so mad. _What's with him today?_

Matsumoto pulls up his right sleeve and shows Sho his wrist. "Looks familiar?" 

Sho feels a shiver going down his spine. _My signature? But how…?_

He rolls up his sleeve and shows his left wrist to Matsumoto, who sucks in a sharp breath at it. So it's his. No wonder he felt like he had seen it before. 

This has to be the biggest cosmic joke of all time. Now he _really_ has proof that the soulmate stuff is just bullshit. 

There's no way Matsumoto Jun can be his perfect match. 

The first time they met, they were just boys. Sho was thirteen, while Matsumoto had turned twelve a couple of months earlier. 

Their school was one of the so-called escalator schools, a pretty prestigious one at it. The Sakurai family had sent their offspring there for generations, and Sho wasn't the exception. The Matsumoto family, on the other hand, wasn't that wealthy until recently. They have a few farms around the Kanto region, rather small in size but well-known for their organic products. Matsumoto Jun and his older sister might be the first family members to attend a private school. They certainly are the first ones to grow up in the city. 

In any case, their school's clubs allowed students from elementary, middle and high school to interact in the same space. Sho had joined the soccer club in his last year of elementary. And Matsumoto had joined the very day he first talked to Sho. 

It was after the practice when Matsumoto came up to him. Sho had noticed him staring the whole time until then, but he hadn't said a thing. 

Matsumoto was tiny back then. Sho, who was shorter than most boys his age, looked _tall_ next to him. He had chubby cheeks and a bit of an overbite, which made him look even younger than he was. His eyebrows were on the thicker side, giving him a serious look when he had a blank expression (it faded the rest of the time). But the most distinctive thing about him were his eyes, that seemed too big for his face. 

"H-Hi! I'm Matsumoto Jun!" Matsumoto said that time, smiling awkwardly at Sho. "You're Sakurai-senpai, right? My friends have told me a lot about you. They said you're very good at soccer!" 

As he talked, Sho couldn't stop staring into Matsumoto's eyes. Damn, they were _huge_! Sho was a big-eyed boy himself, still has rather large eyes now that he's an adult, but even _he_ thought Matsumoto's eyes were too big. 

Focused as he was on Matsumoto's eyes, what did Sho reply? 

"Your eyes are so big! You look like an insect!" 

(He still feels like face-palming at that gem of a line whenever he recalls it.) 

Sho happened to have no indoor voice back then (he gets accused of having no indoor _laughter_ now), so all the other boys heard and started pointing at Matsumoto and laughing. Matsumoto ran away after that, his cheeks aflame with embarrassment. Some guys said he was seen crying afterwards, which gained him a reputation of being a crybaby that he couldn't shed until his university years (when he got a reputation of being _stoic_ instead). That was the first and last time Matsumoto went there. He switched to the baseball club, just like Sho switched to the rugby one a few months later. 

In retrospect, that might be the origin of their difficulties in getting along. After all, it wouldn't the last time teenage Sho said something insensitive to Matsumoto Jun. 

(Let it be said that teenage Sakurai Sho was most definitely an _asshole._ ) 

Neither of them ever changed schools, so they continued being in each other's lives since that terrible first meeting until now. Sho wouldn't say they were ever friends. He doesn't think Matsumoto considers him as such (understandable). They did spend a lot of time together, though. Sho tutored Matsumoto during middle school and high school, helping him with everything except for math. Matsumoto was much better with numbers than he was, at least back then. And during their university years, they continued studying together despite not choosing the same major. 

"You know how to make me concentrate, Sho-kun," Matsumoto explained to him. "I always do better when I study with you." 

Now, Sho didn't want to take more credit than he deserved, but Matsumoto _did_ become more disciplined after studying with him. He even graduated at the top of his class in high school and university. 

(Let it also be said that teenage Sakurai Sho was an asshole who was also an honor student. An unusual combination, he knows. His friends joke that he cannot be considered a _true rebel_ because his grades were too good. They're bigger assholes than him.) 

Sho studied Business, hoping it'd prepare him to succeed his mother someday. He considered following in his father's steps and going for an Economics or Law degree, but the prospect of having a political career, like his father, made him want to throw up. Still does, to be honest. Matsumoto, on the other hand, chose to study Marketing. Whatever his plans for a future career were when he started, they changed when Sho's mother convinced him to take a part-time job at the Sakurai Group's event planning company, Cherry Blossom Productions. 

She mistakenly thought that all that time Sho and Matsumoto spent together meant they were close. Not that Sho could blame her. 

Matsumoto turned out to be a fantastic event planner. He became the creative director of their main planning team in a matter of a couple of years. And Sho worked hand-in-hand with him, making sure to keep Matsumoto grounded when it came to developing his vision, controlling the budget and coordinating their staff. 

They have been together for most of their lives, and not even once has Sho had any remotely romantic thoughts regarding him. At best, he sees Matsumoto as an annoying little brother, the kind that gets on his nerves constantly but he cannot bring himself to hate, which is why their being soulmates makes no sense. 

He's not attracted to Matsumoto. Puberty really did a number on that guy. He went through an 'ugly' phase (that nobody but Matsumoto himself called ugly) when he was a lanky teen with a severe case of acne, worsened by his use of makeup. If that wasn't enough, he also got braces. After his last growth spurt, however, and once his acne got better, it was a different story. His eyebrows got thicker and more masculine, he lost the baby fat on his face, his smile became _perfect,_ he developed some muscle, and just like that he became one of the hottest men Sho has ever seen. And yet, despite all those physical changes, Sho still can't see him any differently from the way he did when he was thirteen. 

Yes, he still sees an insect sometimes when Matsumoto looks at him, especially when his eyes go all wide and his eyebrows rise, just like now. 

"This can't be happening," Matsumoto says. He's running his hands through his hair, shaking his head frantically as he paces around Sho's office. "This isn't real. I must be having a nightmare or something!" 

"Want me to pinch you?" 

Matsumoto glares at him, and Sho can only smirk. "You don't seem to get how serious this is, do you?" 

"That's because it's _not,_ " Sho replies, shrugging. "So what if I got your chicken scratch magically tattooed on my wrist? It's not like it changes a thing!" 

"It changes _everything!_ " Matsumoto snaps at him, taking a few hasty steps in Sho's desk's direction. "I don't want to spend the rest of my life with you!" 

Sho snorts. "Likewise. I have a fiancé, you know? I have no intention to let this thing change my life plans." 

Matsumoto frowns. "You don't want to be with your soulmate?" 

"I don't believe in that crap," Sho says. "Much less now that I know it's _you._ " 

Matsumoto's face gets a little red. Sho can't help enjoying it. He likes being the one getting on Matsumoto's nerves for a change. 

"Asshole!" 

Sho grins. "What? Are you going to say that you do want to spend your life with _me_ of all people?" 

Matsumoto cringes, making a gagging sound. Sho would be offended if that wasn't a perfect representation of his own reaction to it. 

"Then we're on the same page!" Sho says triumphantly. "Look, nobody needs to know about this. We can just go on with our lives business as usual." 

Matsumoto hums, staring quietly into the distance. He seems to be considering Sho's suggestion. "What about the marks? People will notice them." 

Sho takes off his watch and offers it to him. "This should be thick enough to cover it," he says. 

"A Rolex? You sure?" Matsumoto arches an eyebrow at him, picking up the watch cautiously. 

"I got like ten more at home. Take it." 

Matsumoto huffs, shaking his head as he mutters something between his teeth. He then removes a thick silver bracelet from his left wrist and places it on Sho's palm. "I'll get you something different later," he says. "This one is _not_ your style." 

"Alright." 

"So… don't look at me directly in the eye or touch me ever again," Matsumoto says. "I don't want to have a bond with you." 

The 'bond' Matsumoto refers to is supposed to start forming from the moment the soulmate mark appears. It's what makes the telepathy work between two soulmates, or so people say. Its strength depends on physical contact (including eye contact) and emotional connection. They can't avoid being in the same space every day, so Sho guesses Matsumoto's request is pretty reasonable. 

"Got it." Sho nods. 

Matsumoto leaves without saying another word. 

Sho hopes they'll be able to handle this without much trouble. 

A month goes by. Nothing seems to change, at least at first. 

Matsumoto never took back his bracelet. Perhaps he forgot that Sho had it in the first place. He does wear Sho's watch every day. Sometimes Sho can spot part of his mark since the watch doesn't cover it perfectly. He hopes he's the only one. 

A few people complimented Matsumoto on his new watch. At least two of them pointed out that Sho owned a _very similar_ one. 

"But he has tons of watches," Jun said to them. "It'd be practically impossible to find a Rolex model he doesn't own." 

Nice deflection. Also, fuck him, what did he mean by that!? 

Sho ended up getting used to wearing Matsumoto's bracelet, even though he agrees that it doesn't suit him at all. His mother gave him a raised eyebrow the first time she spotted it, but she didn't comment on it. His coworkers have been less discrete, especially after one of them took the trouble to calculate how much time Sho had lived, correctly concluding that his soulmate mark had appeared and the bracelet was most likely a gift from his soulmate. Everyone has been kind of _obsessed_ with finding out who his soulmate is ever since. The only fun part about it has been to see Matsumoto's expression turn sour every time someone calls his bracelet _tacky._

His friends have been even _worse._

"So… it's a man, right?" 

Sho lets out an exaggerated sigh. "Not again, Nino…" 

"I mean, it's pretty obvious that thing wasn't bought with you in mind, and it's too big to be a woman's bracelet," Nino continues, ignoring Sho's protests. "He has a weird taste in accessories." 

"I bet he's gay." 

Sho rolls his eyes. "You too, Satoshi-kun?" 

"What? It's obvious!" Satoshi simply says. "You're gay, so your soulmate has to be gay too." 

"Or bi," Nino points out. "Compatible sexual orientations." 

"Like you guys?" 

Satoshi and Nino flash identical grins at Sho. It's so annoying. 

Sho still remembers the day they revealed their marks to him, a little over a year before his mark appeared. Despite not believing in soulmates at all, Sho had to admit they are an exceptionally good match. But then again, they have always gotten along well. They had been an idol duet for over eight years when their soulmate marks appeared. Sho has never seen any other two guys who are more comfortable with each other. They're a couple now, of the 'definitely do some inappropriate stuff in public' variety. Not that they didn't do so before, they did, but now it's official. 

(Celebrities in Japan can only avoid criticism from 'fans' if they get together with their soulmate. All other relationships always spark controversy. It's fucked up how entitled Japanese fans are.) 

"Sorry to say it, but you're way off the mark," Sho says. "He's never been into men as far as I know." 

Nino hums, exchanging an amused glance with Satoshi. "Then it _is_ a man, _and_ you already knew him from before getting the mark! Interesting!" 

Sho grunts as the two of them laugh at him because now he's given them some information about his soulmate. _They'll never leave me in peace…_

"I don't know why you're being so mysterious about this. We all know you don't give a damn about soulmates anyway, so why do you keep it secret?" 

Sho sighs, pulling up his sleeve to remove the bracelet. He laughs as Nino and Satoshi just stare at the mark in confusion. 

"What is supposed to say there?" Satoshi frowns, reaching for Sho's wrist. "I can't read it." 

"His name," Sho replies with a smile as they continue examining it. "I didn't recognize it at first either." 

Nino gasps. "Wait, I've seen that before! No… no way! No fucking way! It's J!" 

Sho only nods as Nino and Satoshi try to digest the news. Like him, they also find it's a very unusual match. 

"Doesn't he hate your guts since you were kids? I'm pretty sure I heard that once unless he was just being a tsundere," Nino comments. "He said you were always mean to him." 

"I was _not_!" Sho grumbles. "Not all the time anyway. But yeah, he's never liked me much." 

"And yet, you've been together for most of your lives," Nino points out, and Sho can't even try to deny it. "Your whole family knows him, right? And you know his family too?" 

"Yup…" 

"Hmm… I wonder if _this_ has anything to do with it," Nino says, pursing his lips. "Maybe that's the reason you've ended up sticking together no matter what." 

"Because we're soulmates?" 

"Think about it: the guy who's always been by your side, the one that everyone considers that makes a 'dream team' with you when you work together, happens to be your soulmate. Makes sense, wouldn't you say?" 

Sho groans. "That's a coincidence, it means nothing! Because then, what about people who are, I don't know, over fifty or sixty but they _never_ came across their soulmate!?" 

That makes Nino finally shut his mouth, although he gives Sho a pitiful look. He knows why he said that, Sho thinks. It wouldn't be hard to guess. Sho's parents' divorce is ongoing. His father just moved out, leaving his mother alone at the huge house they bought when they were young (Sho's sister moved out last year, and his brother is studying overseas). Sho knows they're both having a hard time adjusting to living on their own after decades of not doing so, but he doesn't know what to do about it, other than hanging out with them as often as possible. Still, it's hard to see them struggle. 

Where are _their_ soulmates? Wouldn't this be a stellar moment for them to make their grand entrance and prove that the universe didn't make a mistake in matching them? 

Oh, but that won't happen. Because soulmates are bullshit. 

"Maybe it's not the right time yet," Satoshi comments calmly. "Maybe soulmates only come into our lives when we need them to do so." 

Sho doesn't say anything, but he thinks that's bullshit too. He and Matsumoto didn't need each other back when they met. Or did they? 

He shakes his head. _Why am I even thinking about this? It's stupid._

"Let's get going. We're late for our meeting," he says. 

The conversation kept them entertained for longer than Sho thought. 

Matsumoto says nothing when they come into the room, but Sho can feel his eyes on him, and he shivers. Per their agreement, he can't look back when he says he's sorry for making everyone wait. He doesn't need to. He knows exactly what kind of expression Matsumoto is sporting right now. 

"It's not his fault, J. _We_ made him lose track of time," Nino says. "Soulmate talk. You know how curious everyone is about Sho-yan's soulmate!" 

Now Sho finally turns his head to look at Matsumoto. His eyes widen in the littlest sign of panic (Nino will totally notice that, won't he?) as he slowly hides his right arm behind his back. The tips of his ears turn slightly red and he gives Sho a nervous look. 

_Real smooth, Matsumoto…_ Sho rolls his eyes, shooting an accusatory glance at Matsumoto, who averts his eyes as per usual. 

Everyone starts commenting in whispers that, indeed, they wish Sho just told them who it is to put a face to the silver bracelet in his wrist. It's a good thing none of them seem to recall seeing Matsumoto wear that particular bracelet. Matsumoto owns so many accessories, some even more _extravagant,_ that it might be hard for everyone to make the connection. 

(On the other hand, wouldn't that make him the obvious candidate?) 

"You wouldn't happen to know who it is, would you, J?" Nino asks, his lips curling into a smirk as he watches Matsumoto squirm a little. 

"N-No…" Matsumoto shakes his head, folding his arms across his chest. He furrows his eyebrows, pretending to be thinking for a moment. He clears his throat before speaking up again. "It hasn't come up in conversation." 

"Aren't you curious, though? We all know you _love_ talking about soulmates." 

Sho sighs. _Of course…_

Unlike Sho, Matsumoto is a _believer._ His parents were high school sweethearts. They had been married for years when their soulmate marks appeared, only to reveal they had been soulmates all along. That must have left quite the impression in young Matsumoto's mind. It doesn't help that his mother and father are still crazy about each other despite being married for over thirty years. They're the happiest couple Sho has ever seen, hands down. 

To find out that Sho is his soulmate must have been hard for him. He probably dreamed of the same thing, to be with the _perfect_ partner before the mark even appeared. 

Matsumoto flashes Nino a smile. "Only in my free time," he says, and Sho wonders if he's the only one who can feel the tinge of sadness in his voice. 

It makes him feel a bit bad. Not like he chose to be Matsumoto's soulmate in the first place, but still. 

"Alright, time to get to work! You all may interrogate _Sho-kun_ after we're done here," Matsumoto says. 

Another slip. Sho looks around in a panic, wondering if anyone else noticed. Thankfully, they're just laughing and pulling out their notes. It's been years since Matsumoto stopped calling him 'Sho-kun' in public. It's always been 'Sakurai-kun' or 'Sho-san' if their boss (Sho's mom) happens to be present. 

_What's with him today?_ Sho wonders as he observes Matsumoto during the meeting. Their eyes never meet, thank goodness, and when Sho has to stand beside him, they fall into their newly developed habit of synchronizing their moves so that staying out of reach will be easier. It's a bit ironic, Sho thinks, that he's never been more conscious of Matsumoto's presence around him than now, when they're trying not to have any physical contact. 

The meeting lasts a few hours. Nino instantly walks up to Jun, Satoshi following a couple of steps behind. "Let's grab some dinner," Nino says. "Our treat." 

Matsumoto narrows his eyes at him, but only nods in response. "Just let me pack my stuff." 

"Sho-yan, you're coming too," Nino says. He points at Sho with his index finger, shutting him up before he can get a word out. "I accept no excuses." 

It can't be helped. They must go or Nino will not leave this alone. Sho can vaguely see Matsumoto gesturing at him, but he just ignores him. While they're on their way to Sho's car, Matsumoto walks right by his side. Nino and Satoshi are a few steps behind, far enough that they can talk without being heard. 

"He knows, doesn't he?" 

Sho grins. "I had to show him the mark or the conversation would never be over. He recognized your signature faster than I did." 

"Fuck." 

Matsumoto glares at Sho when he laughs. He doesn't say anything else, though, and just climbs on the car after Sho unlocks the door. He remains silent on their way to Nino and Satoshi's favorite ramen place. He only talks when, after ordering ramen for the four of them, Nino starts his interrogatory. 

"So you're Sho-yan's soulmate." 

Matsumoto lets out a deep sigh. "What about it?" 

"Nothing!" Nino grins. "You didn't tell us." 

"This is just between Sho-kun and me." 

Their order arrives, so they stop talking for a moment to partake in their food. Matsumoto seems uncomfortable. He isn't making eye contact with anyone, and his shoulders look stiff. Sadly for him, the conversation is far from over. 

"How is the bonding going?" 

Sho gives Satoshi a stern look. "That's private, oniisan." 

Satoshi pouts at him. "We told you about ours!" 

Sho wants to say that Satoshi and Nino shared the details _despite_ Sho and Matsumoto repeatedly telling them to stop, but Matsumoto beats him to it. 

"Not our fault that you guys tend to overshare," Matsumoto says. "That's not our style." 

"He's right, Oh-chan." Nino nods. "Secret relationships _and_ swapping expensive jewelry are more like them. Like that Rolex J has been wearing lately." 

"It's just to hide the marks!" Matsumoto protests, his face turning a little red. "And we're _not_ in a relationship! I have a girlfriend!" 

That comes as a surprise to everyone. It shouldn't, given that Matsumoto is an attractive man in his thirties and has a fairly active social life. He's a workaholic, though, so Sho wonders how on earth he finds time in his already busy schedule to keep a romantic relationship. 

"She's an actress. We can't really talk about it in public per her agency's policies," Matsumoto explains. "They only ever make exceptions for… soulmates and…" 

"And you guys are not," Nino completes, giving Matsumoto a sad smile. "How did she take it?" 

Matsumoto lowers his head. "I haven't told her yet. I don't know how to bring it up." 

It seems Matsumoto's girlfriend is also a believer. And he fears that might be a problem now that it turns out the universe didn't intend for them to be together. He thinks she will break up with him the moment she finds out. 

"It's a matter of time now," Matsumoto says, pursing his lips. "I wake up every morning dreading the thought that it could be our last day together." 

Sho snorts. Both Satoshi and Nino frown at him, while Matsumoto just gives him a blank stare. He rolls his eyes and takes a long sip of his beer. 

"I'm sure it'll be fine! Plenty of couples have a good life together despite not being soulmates!" Nino comments, trying to cheer Jun up. 

"If she loves you, she won't care about that," Satoshi adds with a reassuring smile. 

Sho has nothing positive to say, so he chooses to finish his ramen while the other three keep talking about Matsumoto's supposedly _wonderful_ girlfriend. _If she was that nice, then he wouldn't be fearing things will go south when she sees the mark._

"What about you, Sho-yan? Does your fiancé know about this?" 

Sho blinks, furrowing his eyebrows as he chews. "Sorry, what?" he asks after swallowing. 

"Your fiancé," Nino repeats, "what does he think?" 

"Oh, I haven't told him either," Sho says. "It's not like it changes anything for us in any case. Although he did notice the bracelet. He said it was cool." 

"It's an arranged marriage, Nino," Matsumoto says. "You can't compare them to a _real_ couple." 

Sho frowns. "Excuse me? Aiba-san and I _are_ a real couple." 

Matsumoto turns to look at him with an expression that is equal times mocking and furious. "Right… because any man would totally refer to his _fiancé_ by his family name instead of his first name." 

"At least we can _talk_ in public about our engagement and don't need to hide shit from everyone." 

Matsumoto laughs. "Oh, yes, the sweet, sweet romance of two men announcing a business partnership via marriage!" 

"What is it to you anyway? It's _my_ life. I can do whatever the fuck I want with it." 

They're glaring at each other and then Matsumoto starts yelling. But something strange happens. 

"Oh, by all means, go ahead! Enjoy your loveless marriage! It's not like you had a chance at finding someone who would stick around for _you_ instead of your family's wealth anyway!" 

_You're such an idiot, Sho-kun. You're the most amazing man I know, and you'll marry someone who will never value you the way you deserve? Someone who doesn't love you? I can't accept it!_

Sho's eyes go wide. Matsumoto sounds frustrated instead of angry, but the voice is only inside Sho's head! It overlaps with his actual words, and for a moment Sho can't understand what he's saying. 

When Matsumoto closes his mouth, he looks nervous. He averts his eyes from Sho, and gulps his entire beer in one go. "Whatever," he says. "See if I care when you end up getting divorced before your first anniversary." 

"That was way too harsh, MatsuJun," Satoshi says, giving him a disapproving look. "You can't say that to your soulmate!" 

Matsumoto shrugs. "Not like that means shit to him in the first place." 

The topic is promptly dropped after that. They do talk for another while, but it's awkward for all of them. Matsumoto doesn't address Sho directly until they say their goodbyes. 

It feels wrong for some reason. 

It's Valentine's Day when Matsumoto's fears come true. 

They haven't talked about the whole being soulmates thing since that dinner with Nino and Satoshi. Sho hasn't brought it up because it _spooked_ him to hear Matsumoto's voice inside his head, saying words his lips never formed. It has happened a few more times, by the way. Shorter sentences like 'I'm tired' or 'I'm hungry' or 'you didn't have to' (after Sho has given him something to eat while he was hungry, or arranged for their meetings to wrap up sooner so that Matsumoto can go home). One time he even got an 'I could fucking kiss you right now' after telling an insistent personal assistant of a certain problematic client to back off and let Matsumoto take a break, and then handing Matsumoto a serving of anago sushi he had ordered. It surprises Sho every time. 

(And there goes the first soulmate myth that turns out to be true!) 

_I wonder if he can hear my thoughts too,_ Sho wonders. He's afraid to ask. Mostly because his conscious thoughts about Matsumoto usually are 'what is he up to now?' or 'shit, he's got that look in his face again, this can't be good' or 'please, please don't start yelling', and he imagines it wouldn't be pleasant to hear someone say that. 

He's slowly started to know how Matsumoto is feeling with just a look. He doesn't know why. It comes in handy, though. He's averted a few potential crises thanks to that. 

Nino is convinced that this means Sho has been bonding himself to Matsumoto. "See, the connection is there, but it only starts getting stronger when you _make it work,_ " he says. "You hear his thoughts because you _want_ to know what he's thinking, and you can feel what he feels for the same reason. _You_ are nurturing the bond, Sho-yan." 

"And he can do the same?" 

"Yeah!" Nino grins. "If the bond gets strong enough, you could have entire conversations just by exchanging a look!" 

While it sounds extreme, Sho can't dismiss the idea so quickly now. Perhaps they'll get to that point someday, who knows, although the level of intimacy required for that might be a lot higher than their current circumstances allow. In the meantime, it's just a useful trick that has made his work life much easier since the start of the year. 

Like Nino, Aiba also thinks that soulmate bonds are more powerful than Sho ever gave them credit for. "I heard some soulmates can see, hear, smell and even _taste_ what the other is experiencing!" Aiba says excitedly. "A complete integration of the senses and the minds! Isn't that an intriguing concept!?" 

Sho arches an eyebrow at him. "I thought you didn't believe in soulmates." 

"I don't believe they are the _only_ possible life companions, but I don't object that the bonds are real," Aiba clarified. "Everyone I know that has met their soulmate _has_ experienced some form of telepathy. They can't all be making it up, right!? Even _you_ have, haven't you?" 

Sho bites his lip, looking down at his wrist, where Matsumoto's bracelet is still covering his mark. He told Aiba that he had a soulmate the last time they met. As he expected, Aiba didn't make a fuss about it. He didn't even ask who it is, saying that Sho is entitled to choose who gets to know his soulmate's identity. Their wedding plans continued without change, and now they have set a date: November 10th. 

They've been hanging out a lot lately. It's been great, Sho has to admit. Aiba is such a nice guy, and so much fun to be around. He's got a silly side, despite having a reputation for being _ruthless_ when it comes to business, and is not afraid of laughing at himself. He's spontaneous. It helps that he's also _very_ attractive. They feel more comfortable around each other than when they first met, but so far, their relationship feels more like a friendship. It doesn't bother either of them. It's a very good sign that they can get along like this despite not having gotten engaged out of love. 

They're having lunch together because Aiba has plans for the night. He didn't share the details, but it might be a date. It's Valentine's after all, and it's not like Sho cares if he spends it with someone else. If anything, he's a bit envious. 

"You know… the telepathy is a bit freaky," Sho says, chuckling a little as he plays with the bracelet. "The other day, I felt he was super mad, and it turned out that someone gave him the wrong sauce for his fries." 

Aiba laughs. "Really?" 

"He's very particular about food. Only one of our staff has his sauce preferences memorized, and now everyone calls him _Sauce-kun,_ " Sho continues. "I think half of the times I've felt him get angry have been related to someone messing up with his meals. The rest have been about staff not understanding some _very_ specific requests or clients getting on his nerves." 

"Sounds like someone difficult," Aiba says, smiling. "It also sounds like you don't mind." 

"I don't," Sho replies. "I've had years to get used to his moods—and let me tell you, now that I can _feel_ his emotions, I've noticed they're _always_ all over the place. I get why most people find it hard to keep up." 

It's while they're having dessert that Sho _feels it._ It's horrifying, as though someone has just ripped something inside him. He clutches his chest, wincing at the pain that only gets sharper. 

"Shit, something's wrong!" Sho says, getting to his feet immediately. The pain doesn't fade at all, and he _knows_ it's Matsumoto. "I have to go. I need to find him!" 

He doesn't offer any further explanation and storms off the restaurant. He hopes Aiba won't think he's too rude for it. 

_Where the fuck is he and what the hell did just happen!?_

Locating Matsumoto proves to be easy. It's the first time he tries it, but he guesses that, as Nino said, he can make it work as long as he wants it a lot. Matsumoto is home, Sho knows how to get there. As for the reason for the pain, all he feels is it getting more intense every time he attempts to dig deeper into Matsumoto's thoughts. 

He gets to Matsumoto's apartment around half an hour later. The building's security guard recognizes him from the last time he was here a few months ago and lets him in, thank goodness. The front door to Matsumoto's apartment is half-opened, so he just goes in without ringing the bell. 

_What the…?_

There are shoes thrown all over the genkan. When he walks into the living room, he finds half of the bookshelves are empty and the remaining books are in complete disarray. There are objects all over the floor, some even broken. The kitchen is in a similar state. 

"Matsumoto-san?" Sho calls. "Are you okay? Matsumoto-san?" 

He finds Matsumoto curled up in a corner of his bedroom, hugging his knees against his chest. The closet is half-empty, and some clothes are piled in front of it. 

_She dumped him._

He knows it before Matsumoto's voice in his mind confirms it. The pain in his chest increases as Matsumoto looks up, eyes bloodshot and swollen. 

"What are you doing here?" Matsumoto asks. "Leave me alone!" 

_Don't go,_ the Matsumoto in Sho's mind begs. 

Sho sighs and pulls him up. He wraps his arms around Matsumoto, finding almost no resistance. "It's fine. I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere," he says. 

Matsumoto sniffles, holding on tight to Sho's shoulders. "How did you know?" 

"I'm your soulmate. It kind of comes with the job," Sho says with a little laugh. He stops as he feels Matsumoto shaking between his arms. 

"Her mark appeared precisely _today,_ " Matsumoto says. "On Valentine's Day of all days." 

"Shit, that's awful." 

"She said it's a _sign,_ " Matsumoto continues, laughing. "Then she confessed to me that her soulmate is the guy she's been seeing behind my back!" 

At this point, Sho is certain that Matsumoto is just trying to mask that he's crying. He holds Matsumoto tight, not looking at his face so that he doesn't feel self-conscious. He doesn't want Matsumoto's pride to get in the way of his much-needed venting. 

"They're going to talk to her agency's president today. And they'll be living together from now on at his place," Matsumoto sniffs, his voice cracking a little as he talks. "I can almost see the tabloid headlines for tomorrow, talking about their 'true love story' or some shit like that." 

Sho sighs. "I'm sorry." 

Matsumoto looks at him with a frown. "Why would you be? You weren't the one cheating on me and abandoning me after you found an excuse," he says. Then he holds up a hand. "And don't you dare to say that this wouldn't be happening if we weren't soulmates! That isn't your fault either, Sho-kun, regardless of the way we both felt when we found out." 

Matsumoto gives him a tiny smile that Sho can't help but return. "Fair enough," Sho says. 

"I must look like shit right now…" Matsumoto sighs, wiping his tear-stricken cheeks with his hands. 

"You don't," Sho replies. "Not any more than usual, at least." 

That gets Matsumoto to laugh, his eyes forming two crescents, and Sho can't help thinking that 'ugly' is the last word he'd use to describe the way he looks. He's cute when he smiles, has always been despite teenage Sho's insistence that his facial proportions resembled those of an insect. Not even the puffy eyes can make him look bad. 

"Thank you," Matsumoto mumbles, biting on his lower lip with a sheepish expression. He's blushing a little as he stares into Sho's eyes. "You never said you thought I was cute." 

_He can read my mind too, then._

"You're right, I've never said it." 

"Why not?" 

"Like you didn't already have enough people telling you how cute you were all the time, Mr. 'look, Sho-kun, I got chocolate from all the girls in my class for Valentine's'." 

"It wasn't just the girls, the boys gave me chocolate too," Matsumoto corrects him with a smug smirk. "And I think I would have appreciated it if you ever said something _positive_ about my looks. The only time you've commented on my appearance, it was to call me an insect!" 

"Was that really the only time!?" Sho's eyes widen in surprise. 

"It's fine. Now I know what you've thought all along." Matsumoto beams at him. 

"Yeah, well, don't get cocky now," Sho says. 

Matsumoto laughs and pulls Sho closer to him. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. "It's so weird… I'm feeling so much better now that you're here," he says. He opens his eyes and looks at Sho again. "Thank you, Sho-kun." 

"You're welcome." 

They stare at each other for a moment. Matsumoto seems a little nervous. 

_Don't go. I don't want to be alone._

"So… I hope I didn't interrupt your plans for the day," is what Matsumoto says. 

Sho shakes his head. "I had no plans," he says. It's not entirely a lie. Aside from lunch with Aiba, he didn't have anything else to do. 

"Oh…" Matsumoto gives him a surprised look. "Well, umm… any chance you might, I don't know, want to hang out for a while? I… I could make dinner later. I-If you want, that is." 

"I'd love that, Matsumoto-san." 

Matsumoto clicks his tongue. " _Jun._ It's been almost twenty years, Sho-kun. Wouldn't you say it's about time we get comfortable being on first-name basis?" 

"I suppose," Sho says, grinning when Matsumoto—no, _Jun_ puts his hands on his chest. He's circling Jun's waist and, for some reason, none of this feels strange. 

"So… what should we do by now?" Jun asks. 

"Whatever you want to do, Jun-san," Sho replies. "It's what I came for." 

Jun's eyes get glassy. He leans his head on Sho's shoulder again. "Mind if we just do this for a while? I-It does make me feel better, I swear." 

"Sure," Sho replies. "Shouldn't we sit or something? You know, to be more comfortable." 

"R-Right! Let's do that!" 

They end up cuddling in Jun's bed the whole afternoon. By the time they go to make dinner together, Sho can tell that Jun's mood is much better. He's still sad, but he isn't hurting as bad as he was when Sho arrived. 

_Maybe it's another soulmate thing,_ Sho muses as he watches Jun whip up a seafood pasta. _To feel better when one's soulmate is close._

They have dinner in companionable silence, and then they go back to bed. Jun told Sho to go home, but his thoughts contradicted his words, so Sho decided to stay. The look of relief on Jun's face told him he had made the right choice. 

And that's the first Valentine's Day they spend together. 

"You and J did _what!?_ " 

Sho almost has to slap a hand over Nino's mouth when he tells him and Satoshi about what happened on Valentine's Day. 

"You and J cuddled and slept together in the same bed!? You spent the night at his place!?" 

"Nino!" Sho shushes him, looking around nervously. "I don't want everyone to know! Jun-san would kill me!" 

"Oh my god, you call him _Jun-san_ now!?" 

Sho pinches the bridge of his nose as his two excited friends shoot question after question. No, they didn't kiss or have sex. Yes, the legend is true: Jun hogs the covers _and_ is an absolute demon in the mornings. As for the rumor that said he could only make pasta, Sho can't tell yet because they _did_ have pasta that night. 

"But how is he when cuddling? Does he get all clingy and stuff?" Nino asks. "He looks like the type that would trap you between his arms and never let you go." 

Spot on, but Sho won't tell him. He won't tell who was the little spoon either (it was Sho because he turned around at some point of the night and Jun pulled him back from behind). 

"He was upset, Nino. His girlfriend had just dumped him, he needed someone to comfort him." 

"Did you like it?" Satoshi asks. 

Sho can feel his cheeks getting warm. "I didn't hate it," he says. "I doubt it'll ever happen again, though." 

"Why? Did he say he didn't like it?" 

"He didn't, but as I said, he was vulnerable that day. He wouldn't have done it otherwise!" 

Satoshi and Nino hum in response, exchanging a quick look. They don't insist on the same question, but they aren't letting Sho off the hook just yet. 

"How did you know he needed you?" Nino asks. "I thought you were going to meet Aiba-san for lunch." 

"I did have lunch with him," Sho says, "but I left in the middle of it because I felt pain in my chest and I knew it had to be Jun-san." 

Nino's eyes go wide. "You can feel him when he isn't around?" 

"At times." Sho nods. "Isn't that normal?" 

"It is… but for most people, it takes _years_ of practice. Oh-chan and I haven't mastered it yet, even though we have physical contact every single day!" Nino explained. "How the heck did you get there without even looking at J for longer than a couple of seconds at a time?" 

"I… I don't know! It just happens, alright!?" Sho sputters, pouting at them as the blush creeps up his cheeks. "I could even tell where he was." 

Nino gasps, shooting a look at Satoshi, who just grins at Sho. "You're nurturing that bond nicely, Sho-chan! I'm very proud of you!" Satoshi says. 

"But _how_!? I don't think I'm doing anything out of the ordinary!" 

Satoshi smirks. "Maybe MatsuJun has been bonding himself to you as well." 

"By the way, where is he?" Nino asks. 

Sho purses his lips, focusing on finding Jun. It doesn't take long. "In his office. His coffee is too weak today and he didn't sleep well last night, so he's feeling a bit tired and…" 

He stops talking, his face feeling like it's on fire. 

"And…?" Nino giggles as he struggles to say the words. "Oh, come on! Just say it! We won't tell anyone." 

"I… I really can't, Nino!" Sho replies. "I'm not even sure I should have heard that myself…" 

He shouldn't have. Definitely. He's certain that if it was up to Jun, he'd never hear it in the first place. 

_I should have made Sho-kun spend the night yesterday too. He gives the best hugs and he smells so good…_

He had stopped listening right there, not wanting to intrude any further. It reminded Sho of the question he wanted to ask Nino and Satoshi when he met them in the hallway five minutes ago—before the conversation got derailed. 

"Anyway… I wanted to ask you something about the whole cuddling thing." 

Nino nods. "Shoot." 

"Does… does hugging your soulmate help with anything?" 

"Yes!" Nino and Satoshi reply at unison. 

"R-Really!? How so?" 

"It makes all the negative feelings go away," Nino says, looking at Satoshi with a fond smile. "Whenever I'm frustrated, angry, sad… just touching Oh-chan makes it all better. It even helps when I'm tired!" 

"It works when we're sick or in physical pain too," Satoshi adds. 

"Huh…" Sho hums. "That's interesting." 

They hear some steps approaching. Sho doesn't need to look to know who it is. He can feel it. 

"Sho-kun, could you come with me for a second?" 

Jun doesn't wait for an answer and just goes into Sho's office. Sho bids goodbye to amused Nino and Satoshi, and follows him. He isn't that surprised when Jun pulls him into a hug. A smile spreads on his lips when he hears Jun whisper: "ah, yes, this is it." 

"Will this become a regular thing between us?" 

"Shut up," Jun grumbles, pulling him tighter. "I need it." 

"Fine…" Sho chuckles. "How were you yesterday? Felt better?" 

"A little," Jun says. "I couldn't sleep last night. Bed felt too big." 

"And here I thought you'd be better off without sharing the blankets." 

Jun snorts. "You're the first one who complains about that." 

"I'm pretty sure you already had a reputation of hogging blankets before me," Sho says with a smirk. 

Jun narrows his eyes at him. "Don't believe the people who badmouth me. They know nothing!" 

"They're your friends!" 

"All the more reason to not listen to them," Jun replies. "Those assholes _love_ to spread false rumors about me. It's like their hobby or something." 

The 'assholes' in question are Jun's friends since his university days. People started calling them the _ikemen club_ because _all of them_ are incredibly handsome. The ones Sho has seen the most are Ikuta Toma and Oguri Shun, and he's pretty sure one of them spread that rumor about Jun being a terrible bedmate. 

"It was Toma," Jun grumbles. "I only kicked him off the bed once, okay? And the blanket burrito part is so _not_ true!" 

"Ah, a burrito! So that's what you were doing that night!" 

"Never expected my soulmate to join my bullies' side," Jun sighs, "but I guess that's life." 

Sho doesn't comment anything this time, too engrossed looking at Jun's peaceful face. His eyes are closed, and there's a soft smile on his lips. He's so close that Sho can feel his breath on his skin. And it's all so… normal. Except that it's not because in the past two decades of being acquainted with each other this has _never_ happened. 

"Stop thinking, you're loud. You need to learn how to _shield,_ " Jun mumbles. "And who cares if it's never happened? It feels good, doesn't it?" 

(Shielding is believer-speak for "hiding thoughts or feelings from soulmates" after telepathy is established. Sho didn't get why they'd try so hard to learn how to read minds, only to block their soulmate from reading theirs. Now he sees why.) 

Sho grins. "I guess." 

"There. That's all that matters." 

Jun gets so relaxed after a while that they have to get on the couch. They cuddle for almost an hour, Jun straddling Sho with his head leaning on Sho's shoulder, until Sho's assistant comes in to let Sho know they're ready for the meeting. The poor guy is so shocked to find them in such a _compromising_ position that he starts stuttering. 

"Yeah, yeah, we'll be there. Now beat it!" Jun snaps at Sho's assistant. He buries his face in Sho's chest, whining that he doesn't want to go. "I need another hour or so." 

"Five minutes," Sho says, "and I'll hold your hand under the table during the meeting." 

"Deal!" 

Sho wonders if Jun's craving for physical contact will go away when he stops being brokenhearted. He doesn't mind it, but Jun has never been a touchy person. Or, well, not with him. 

_Let's see how much this lasts,_ he thinks to himself as they walk hand in hand to the meeting room. 

As time passes by, Sho's bond with Jun keeps growing. 

The first week after the breakup, Jun looked for Sho every day to cuddle. He claimed that it had helped him get through the day the first two times, so he _demanded_ that Sho continued providing cuddles until his heartbreak passed. He even argued that since Sho found him cute, it wasn't that much of a sacrifice to him. The nerve of that guy. 

From the second week on, the demands continued, although they spent less time holding each other. It wasn't just in private anymore, though. Sometimes when Jun got stressed out because of work, he'd just walk up to Sho and hug him until he regained his calm. Their staff didn't take long to put two and two together, and soon the entire company knew that they were soulmates. 

Sho's parents were _thrilled_ when they heard of it. And while they had been the only ones on Sho's side regarding his arranged marriage, they changed their minds once they found out that Jun was his soulmate. They even said they'd try to figure out a way to make a partnership with Aiba's family without them having to get married. 

"Marriage is a serious matter, son. You shouldn't take it so lightly," Sho's dad told him. "Why would you want to find someone else when you have a soulmate as wonderful as Jun-kun?" 

"But I'm not in love with him!" Sho protested. 

"You're not in love with Aiba-kun either," Sho's dad pointed out. "Or are you saying that you are?" 

He's not. Aiba is really nice, and Sho enjoys spending time with him. He's attracted, yes, and he's pretty sure it's mutual, for Aiba asked him if he'd like to try getting more _physical_ one of these days. He can see himself falling in love with the guy in the future, but he can't say they're at that place right now. 

He can't imagine falling for Jun. They have been in each other's lives for way too long. There's no mystery, no 'discovering each other' because they know it all already. Okay, except maybe that Sho had no idea Jun secretly loved cuddles. The point is… he doesn't think he could even get a crush on Jun. 

Their bond hasn't helped move things in that direction, much to the frustration of everyone around Sho, who seems to be waiting for the moment he inevitably—according to them—falls head over heels for Jun. They do get along better, which is great and has relieved many of their staff, but that's about it. 

"I think J is into you," Nino says when Sho asks for his insight. "But he's always struck me as rather shy when it comes to romance." 

"He's never dated men as far as I know." 

Nino arches an eyebrow. "Were you even aware that he dated before he told us about his girlfriend?" 

"I…" Sho frowns, just realizing that, indeed, he's never seen Jun with any of his past partners—if there are more, that is. "Now that you mention it, no." 

"See? There's no way for you to know that," Nino replies. "Given his tendency to surround himself almost exclusively with _gorgeous_ men, I'd say he has to be at least bi. He has to be compatible with you anyway. Soulmate rules dictate so." 

"You have a point there." 

It bothers Sho a bit to find out he doesn't know for sure whether Jun is straight or not. Not because he's interested, he's not, but it just makes him wonder what else he doesn't know. 

"Anyway… I don't think he'll make a move on you," Nino says. "As I said, he's shy." 

Sho frowns. "I've always had the opposite image." 

Nino blinks. "Have you seen him talk to someone he doesn't know well?" 

"Uh…" 

"He's so awkward!" Nino continues. "He tries to act all cool, but he ends up coming off meaner than he is. Oh-chan and I were a little scared of him at first, and then we noticed he was a sweetheart." 

"I… I had no idea that's how people saw him…" Sho says. "I mean, he _was_ kind of awkward when he was a kid, but he's not like that anymore! He handles socializing pretty well!" 

"See, you say that because you know him from a long time ago and you're comparing him to his teen self," Nino points out. "To the rest of us, he just seems like any other shy guy, who only acts normally after he's gotten used to people." 

"Okay, I'll give you that, but what about physical contact? For a shy guy, he doesn't seem to have a problem with that!" 

Nino shoots him an exasperated look. "Seriously, Sho-yan… do you ever _observe_ him?" He sighs and looks sternly at Sho. "He freaks out whenever someone touches him without warning. It took him _years_ to get used to me and Satoshi." 

"But he's so comfortable with me… and we never did this before…" 

Nino pats Sho's back. "Twenty years, Sho-yan," he reminds Sho. "You're not bound by the same rules as the rest of us mortals." 

"And I don't know the same Jun as the rest of people either, apparently." 

He can't stop himself from thinking about it. He tries not to do it when Jun is around, fearing that he could read Sho's mind and find out. Thankfully, after Jun's comment about shielding, Sho has been practicing it more—Nino and Satoshi are so envious that he figured out how to do it so soon. He knows he's accomplished it, but not perfectly. Jun shouldn't be able to tell he's shielding. 

"You're doing it again!" Jun complains as they hang out one afternoon. He has his head on Sho's lap and is looking up at him angrily. "How did you learn to shield?" 

Sho shrugs. "Seems telepathy comes easily to me." 

"Well, stop it now!" Jun huffs. "You have any idea how frustrating it is to know that something is bothering you but I can't see what it is, no matter how hard I focus!?" 

"It's nothing important!" 

"Then why do you hide it from me!? Don't you trust me?" 

The hurt is evident in Jun's eyes when Sho doesn't answer. He gets up and leaves. He doesn't talk to Sho for the rest of the week. It confuses Sho. Since when does Jun care about what Sho thinks or feels? 

He needs an unbiased perspective, so he decides to ask Aiba about it. He's unsure at first, but the moment he mentions the word _soulmate,_ Aiba is all ears. 

"Do you think it's possible to know someone for years, but then realize that you don't know them at all?" 

Aiba hums, seeming deep in thought for a while. "I think you can never know anyone perfectly," he starts, flashing Sho a smile. "People show different sides of themselves to us depending on the circumstances. There's always something new to find out, even from someone we've known for our entire lives." 

Sho nods dumbly, processing the words. He hadn't considered it, that he didn't know as much about Jun as he always thought he did. Aiba gives him an amused look as he sips his wine. 

"What have you found out about your soulmate lately?" 

Sho blinks, lost for a second, then clears his throat. "Well, for starters, it seems he isn't that fond of touching people, but he's been craving a lot of physical contact from me lately." 

"Oh! For real!?" Aiba's eyebrows shoot up. "How come?" 

"It appears that touching your soulmate can be quite _pleasant,_ " Sho says with a grin as Aiba stares in awe. "Since we cuddled on Valentine's Day, he's been doing it a lot. He says it makes him calm down when he's stressed out." 

"That's fascinating! I envy you so much!" Aiba sighs. "What about you? Does it feel the same way?" 

"I don't know…" Sho shrugs. "It is nice indeed, and I feel all warm on the inside when he comes to see me, but I've never noticed the kind of effect he mentions. Perhaps I just haven't been stressed out enough at the moment to feel the change—" 

Sho stops himself, frowning for a moment. 

"What?" 

"No, I just…" Sho lets out a little laugh. "I have just realized that I can't remember the last time I was stressed out." 

Aiba gives him a teasing grin. "Maybe that's your soulmate's doing." 

"To be fair, he _was_ responsible for a _big_ part of my work-related stress." 

Aiba laughs. "Ah, I'd like to meet him, _Sho-chan_!" 

(Look at him, casually switching honorifics for the first time! Sho is impressed by how smooth Aiba is.) 

"Impossible," Sho says, shaking his head. "He doesn't approve of me marrying you. It could get ugly." 

Aiba hums. "I see…" 

"That… doesn't bother you, does it?" 

"A bit, to be honest," Aiba says. "He's your soulmate, Sho-chan. Whether you like it or not, he'll be in your life _forever._ Soulmates don't ever separate once they find each other. And if you marry me, that means he'll be in my life as well. I don't want him to hate me!" 

"You're right," Sho nods. "I don't think he'll hate you, by the way. He just disapproves of my choices, that's all. You guys would get along if he ever gives himself a chance to get to know you." 

"Have you talked about it with him?" 

"Not yet, but I will," Sho replies. "The sooner, the better." 

That discussion happens a few days later. Sho goes to Jun's apartment, bringing a huge serving of crab cream croquettes (with _steak_ sauce, not ketchup) and Jun's favorite bottled water (at room temperature, not cold) as a peace offering. He's greeted at the door by a smiling Jun, whose expression turns suspicious the moment their eyes meet. 

"Oh, for fuck's sake…" Jun groans, heading back into the apartment. He yells for Sho to "come in, or is it that you're waiting for a written invitation, Sakurai?" after a couple of minutes. 

He doesn't hide that he knows what Sho came to talk about. "If you plan to be nice to me so that I accept your fiancé, you're wasting your time," he says. He bites into a croquette, smiling at it. Then he turns to look at Sho with a frown. "Arranged marriages are stupid and outdated. Can't your backward-ass parents find a better way to strike a deal?" 

Sho pouts. "Hey, it isn't just _any_ deal! The Aiba Group is looking to enter the entertainment world. You know J-Storm, Nino and Satoshi's agency? Well, the Aiba Group owns the majority of its shares now. And they're looking into the possibility of a merge with the Sakurai Group." 

"What!? Why hadn't you told me any of this!?" 

"Because it’s not definitive yet, and there won't be many changes for the employees," Sho answers. "In the end, the only difference will be that we might end up producing more events for the other Aiba Group's companies, like J-Storm." 

"Can't you do that without marrying?" Jun asks. "I'm sure there are ways to negotiate it if it's going to be so profitable for both groups." 

"My parents are already looking into that," Sho says, rolling his eyes. "They've changed their mind about the wedding too." 

"How come?" 

"They think I should marry my soulmate." 

Jun hums. Then, as he realizes what that means, he shoots Sho a shocked look. "M-Me? They want you to marry _me_?" 

"Terrible idea, right?" Sho chuckles. "I don't get why suddenly everyone thinks we'd make a good couple. No offense, but you're the _last_ guy I'd want to marry." 

Jun's face falls. "Ah, yeah… I know that." 

"I mean… you wouldn't marry me either, right? Or would you?" 

Jun looks away, shaking his head. "Anyway…" he clears his throat, reaching for the bottle of water to take a swig. "You don't need my approval, _Sakurai-san._ You're a grown man." 

(And there goes Jun, expressing displeasure by reverting to the use of Sho's family name. Never a good sign.) 

"Yes, but Aiba-chan really wants to meet you someday," Sho says. "You think you could do that?" 

Jun huffs, cocking his head to the side petulantly. "Croquettes aren't enough to bribe me. You'll have to make me a better offer." 

Sho grins. "I'm listening." 

"Dinner, every evening for a month, your treat," Jun says. "And I want you to stop shielding when we talk." 

"Wait, you won't let me shield at all?" 

Jun arches an eyebrow at him. "That a problem for you?" 

"No, but…" 

"Take it or leave it, Sakurai." 

(Guess he'll have to improve his shielding skills as soon as possible.) 

"Alright, you have a deal." 

"Okay," Jun nods. "Tell Aiba-san to meet us for lunch next Monday." 

Next Monday arrives, and Sho feels so nervous that he thinks he'll throw up. He arrives at the restaurant before Jun or Aiba do, and just waits nervously at their table. 

Jun shows up fifteen minutes later, wearing different clothes from the ones he was wearing in the morning. He looks sharp and fashionable, as usual. He's been favoring baggy pants lately, but today he chose some tight slacks that make his thighs look fantastic. 

"Well, thank you," Jun says with a laugh as he takes a seat. "I'll wear these more often if you think they look so good on me." 

Sho blushes a little. "I was just appreciating the view." 

Jun looks down, trying to hide a shy smile forming on his lips. He's kind of adorable when he gets like that. He looks at Sho from the corner of his eyes, trying to give him a disapproving look but blushing so hard that it does not affect Sho. 

"Stop it," Jun warns. "What's with you and only complimenting me in your mind, hmm?" 

Sho shrugs, smirking at him. "Want me to say it out loud instead?" 

"No…!" 

_Yes._

Sho bursts out laughing at that. "So that's how it is, huh?" 

Jun is about to answer when Aiba comes in, greeting Sho with his loud, cheerful voice. And Jun gives him a look that sends shivers even down Sho's back. 

_Why the fuck does he have to be so damn pretty!? This is the worst!_

Aiba notices and gives Jun an awkward smile. Jun only bows a little when Sho introduces them to each other. 

"Sho-chan talks a lot about you," Aiba says. "He didn't mention you were so handsome!" 

"Oh, that's because I'm not his type," Jun replies. "And he mostly thinks I'm a pain in the ass, so… yeah." 

Aiba just chuckles. "He did say something like that!" 

"Did he now?" Jun glares at Sho. 

For most of the meal, Jun remains silent, letting Aiba and Sho make most of the conversation. His thoughts are uncharacteristically quiet as well, and his emotions get very hard to read. 

_Is he shielding?_ Sho wonders as he observes Jun, who is listening to Aiba with a blank expression. 

They part ways after paying the bill. Jun leaves first, only saying goodbye to Aiba but not to Sho. 

"Ah, Sho-chan…" Aiba pats Sho's back. "It seems we made him jealous." 

"Jealous?" 

"He looked like he wanted me to disappear from his sight." 

"No, that can't be," Sho says. "He doesn't like me, you see? Maybe you just misunderstood. I've been told that he does come across a lot meaner on the first meeting. That's all." 

Aiba hums. "If you say so." 

That evening, when Sho goes to Jun's place for dinner, he finds Jun waiting for him at the door, an angry look on his face. Unlike earlier, Sho can read his mood clearly, a mix of anger, frustration and… of all things, _jealousy._

"No way, Aiba-chan was _right_? You're jealous of him? Is that why you were acting so weird during lunch?" 

Jun only lowers his head, looking at his feet. The mood switches, and now he's sad and ashamed. And still very, _very_ jealous. "So what if I am? It's not like it means anything to you!" 

"Jun-san…" 

"He's stealing away my soulmate!" Jun snaps. "And he's beautiful and smart, and funny, and his family is rich… do I need to go on? Of fucking course I'm jealous, Sho-kun! He's fucking perfect for you! A-And he likes you, and you like him, and…" 

Jun covers his face with both hands. He's starting to panic. 

"I-I'll be fine…" Jun mumbles, but he looks the complete opposite. 

Sho sighs and pulls him into a hug. "Hey… come on, look at me, Jun-san." 

Jun looks up hesitantly, eyebrows scrunched up and lips trembling. 

_I'm scared you won't care about me now that you have him._

"Since when have we been together?" Sho asks. 

"Since always." 

"You've stuck with me even after I yelled at you for calling me in the middle of the night, remember?" 

Jun smiles a little. "Yeah, well… I like being around you." 

"And I like being around you too," Sho admits. "Not all the time, though. For the past twenty years, you've been the main cause of my headaches and stress." 

Jun laughs at that. "I'm a handful, aren't I?" 

"Oh, you _are,_ " Sho replies, grinning when Jun pouts at him. "But I wouldn't have it any other way, Jun-san. I guess I'm so used to you that I can't imagine not being with you." 

Jun throws his arms around Sho. "Thank you." 

"Don't worry about Aiba-chan," Sho says. "He doesn't mind us becoming closer. He thinks it's natural." 

Jun looks at him with a frown. "Becoming closer?" 

"Yeah! Unless you don't want to—" 

"I want to," Jun cuts him off. 

"Great!" Sho says. "So… will you stop being jealous of him?" 

"I can't promise anything," Jun grumbles. "You're going to be dating him for real these months, right?" 

"That's the plan, yes." 

Jun nods. "I won't oppose, as long as you don't start ignoring me." 

With that, it seems that things got settled. 

But it isn't as simple in the end. 

At times, Sho feels like he's dating two people at the same time. Worse: he's spending _way_ more time with the one he isn't actually dating. 

It's partly due to work. The 2015 Ohmiya SK: I'm a Very Bad Boy Summer Tour is their biggest event in the first half of the year. It starts on June 17th, Nino's birthday because he complained he'd never celebrated his birthday in a concert, but the planning has been ongoing for months. 

Jun is, of course, in charge of everything. Nino and Satoshi would never accept a different producer. Sho doesn't know all the details about what Jun is planning for it, but it sounds like it will be big. It's their tenth anniversary, Jun wants to go all out. 

The meetings sometimes last until almost dawn. Sho knows it because, after a couple of weeks of seeing Jun looking like a zombie in the mornings, he decided to start waiting for him. Ever since he did, Jun has started wrapping up his meetings much earlier, saying he wouldn't dare deprive Sho of his sleep. The staff members have thanked Sho for it. They were concerned that Jun was putting his health at risk. 

As usual, Sho is dealing with the logistics and administrative part of their planning—the _boring_ part, as Jun calls it sometimes. There's _a ton_ of paperwork to be done, staff to be hired, providers to be contacted, not to mention that they need to arrange transportation, meals, lodging for all their staff, and there are also the new security measures demanded by J-Storm to avoid ticket reselling. The tour consists of thirty-three shows in eleven different venues, all of them between June and August. The last day of the tour is August 30th, just on time for Jun's birthday. It's going to be _insane._

The tour hasn't started yet, but it will in just a couple of weeks. And it has been impossible to convince Jun that he _can_ take a break from planning. He refuses to have days off; he's working overtime a lot. It's been up to Sho to keep him from working himself to death. 

They cuddle a lot lately. Every once in a while, when it seems Jun's stress is getting to a point where he can't handle it anymore, Sho drags him out of the meeting room where he's permanently found now. Jun always complains, always says he has a lot to do, but he ends up falling asleep almost immediately between Sho's arms. When he wakes up, he seems calmer, his mind clear of whatever was making him feel so frustrated. He thanks Sho and warns him not to do it again, even though they both know they'll probably do the same tomorrow. 

Sho makes sure he's eating, going so far as to threaten him with hand-feeding if he doesn't stop working to have lunch (not that he'd go through with it, but Jun doesn't need to know that). They also have dinner together every evening—one of the reasons Jun has been going home instead of sleeping at work, as he has done on other occasions. He gives Jun massages sometimes. He makes Jun join him at the sauna or a public bath a few times a week. 

It feels a lot like dating, especially when Jun starts also doing things for him. He's made Sho a bento a few times. He's given Sho at least five different bracelets so that he can have "options" when it comes to choosing something to cover his soulmate mark—never mind that most are too thin to cover it and instead bring a lot more attention to it. He lights up just by seeing Sho wear them, so Sho humors him every day. He calls and texts Sho more often, sometimes just to say thank you or good night. He purposely lets Sho read his mind at times. They can't have full conversations yet, but the fact that they can send thoughts at will is a huge step in that direction. 

It's all so natural, the way it progresses, that Sho can't help but seeing it as the new _normal_ after a while. 

Everyone has started taking notice of it. Their staff members are the happiest, saying that Sho being Jun's soulmate is the best thing that's happened to everyone at the company. Sho thought they might be teased for the sudden—and ongoing—increase of physical contact, but it hasn't been the case. 

"They don't want to discourage J," Nino tells him. "He's less of a perfectionist, workaholic demon thanks to you, so they want him to be comfortable enough to hug you in a room full of people should he ever need to calm his nerves or something. See it as a new company policy, Sho-yan." 

"So, it's like 'do not disturb the scary producer when he's getting comforted by his soulmate'?" 

"You're getting it!" Nino laughs. "Besides, we all think it's cute. He's always so serious that nobody expected to ever see him like this. It's been a revelation." 

Both Sho's friends and Jun's friends are quite happy with the recent changes in their relationship. On Sho's side, most of them recognized Jun as the 'cute younger guy who was always with Sho and kind of idolized him' (idolizing is a strong word in Sho's opinion), so they said it made perfect sense that they turned out to be soulmates. They've asked Sho to bring him to their meetups, even though Sho mentioned he's marrying another man. 

"You won't do it," Sho's friend Tsumabuki Satoshi tells him. "If you ever get married, I'm sure it will be to Jun-kun." 

"Why do you think that?" Sho asks. 

Tsumabuki grins. "Because I see the way he looks at you and the way you look at him, and it just wouldn't make sense for you to be with anyone else." 

It gets Sho thinking, but he doesn't change his mind about marrying Aiba. Not even after Jun introduces him to his _ikemen club_ and they all welcome Sho like he and Jun have just announced their wedding or something. Not even one of them cares about him saying—over and over—that he's already engaged. 

(To be fair, most of Sho's friends act that way too. The group of his kouhai who insist on calling Sho their 'aniki', for example, immediately call Jun their 'aniki' as well because 'aniki's significant other is by extension also their aniki'.) 

Their families have been _worse._ Sho's parents asked Jun to bring his family for a _family_ meeting at a fancy restaurant. They celebrated that their sons are soulmates, made very inappropriate questions about their bonding (which they had to answer because there was no escaping from them), and started making plans about who _the couple_ would visit first on holidays which year and so on. Their extended families somehow caught wind of the news, and they all have been congratulating Sho on desisting of that _foolish_ idea of getting an arranged marriage. 

It all annoys Sho to no end, especially the part that comes from their friends and families—funny how it's only at work that nobody makes further assumptions about the future of their relationship, or at least have the decency not to talk about whatever they think of it in front of Sho and Jun. 

In a way, that's partly what motivates him to spend as much time as his busy schedule allows with Aiba. The fact that his agency in choosing a partner is being ignored by everyone else becomes the fuel to take his relationship with Aiba to the next level. 

They have their first kiss around the first week of April. They're under a cherry tree in full bloom, it couldn't be any more cliché. But Sho likes it, and Aiba seems to like it too, so they do it again. 

"Wait," Aiba says when Sho tries to give him a more passionate kiss. "Will Jun-kun be okay with this?" 

"Jun-san? Why?" 

"I heard that soulmates can feel when you're being intimate with someone else," Aiba replies. "It might bother him, no?" 

It sounds like another myth, but to err on the safe side, they decide not to kiss again until Sho consults Jun about it. It takes a few days, though, because Jun is holed up at home with a severe case of hay fever and won't let anyone come visit him, not even Sho. He looks terrible when Sho finally sees him. His eyes and nose look puffy and red, and he seems to be quite tired. He hasn't even bothered to shave. His old meds weren't working, so he got a new prescription, but the new meds were out of stock. He's had a horrible week. 

When Sho brings up the new _development_ in his relationship with Aiba, Jun looks unfazed by it. His thoughts and feelings are absolutely calm, and that might be a first for him ever since Sho started feeling him. 

"Soulmates can indeed tell unless they haven't met in person, that is. I knew you kissed Aiba-kun the very moment it happened," Jun says. "It's only a problem if your soulmate is in love with you. Whatever pleasure the soulmate is having by being with someone else turns into pain for the other. I've heard it's quite nasty, the kind of thing that might make one not have the energy to do anything at all for _days._ " 

Sho gasps. "That bad?" 

"Yup…" Jun nods. "Lucky for you, that couldn't be any further from our case. I don't mind if you and Aiba-kun want to make out or have sex or whatever." 

Sho heaves a sigh of relief. "Ah, that's great to hear!" he says. "I would have felt terrible if that thing the other day had caused you any pain!" 

"Thanks for worrying about me," Jun says with a little smile. "I'm glad it's working out between you guys. At least it won't just be a marriage of convenience for the two of you." 

With Jun's blessing, Sho and Aiba continue seeing each other. They meet at Sho's place sometimes, and they end up making out most of them. Around the second week of May, they have sex for the first time, and it's _fantastic._ Aiba is wild as a lover, very vocal about what he wants. After that, they keep having sex after their dates, and sometimes Aiba even stays over. They do seem more like a normal engaged couple, and Sho couldn't be happier, especially knowing he's pissing off so many people by sticking to his plans. 

As for Jun, well, he keeps behaving the same way. He tries to be less touchy in public after Sho and Aiba get closer, but he never really stops seeking physical contact. And since Sho's used to it now, it doesn't bother him. 

Which brings him now to June 17th, the day the tour starts. They're in Sapporo, the first stop of Ohmiya SK's tour. It's late, and everyone is celebrating in the green room that the opening day was a success. Aiba has come from Tokyo just for today, to spend some time with Sho. He plans to stay the night in Sho's room. He'll leave in the morning for Seoul. 

Sho already said goodbye to everyone and is on his way out when he comes across Jun. He's in a dark, empty hallway, just pacing around. He's distressed, Sho can feel it. And he can't ignore it. 

"Everything alright?" Sho asks, making Jun jump a little. He frowns when Jun turns around, looking like he's on the verge of a nervous breakdown. 

"I'm fine," Jun says. "Just a little tired, that's all." 

_I feel like dying._

Sho frowns. "Are you sure?" 

"Yes! I'm okay, Sho-kun, I got this," Jun insists. "Shouldn't you be on your way already? Aiba-san must be waiting for you." 

_Don't go! Please, don't go!_

Sho sighs, shaking his head. "And leave you all alone like this? No, Jun-san." 

"Sho-kun, _go._ " 

There's a ping, and Sho checks his phone. It's a text from Aiba. 

"Don't make him wait." 

Instead of listening to his words, Sho goes with what he feels is right. He sends a quick text to Aiba, apologizing because he can't make it tonight, and then grabs Jun's hand. 

"Let's go," Sho says. 

"B-But…!" 

"Aiba-chan will understand," Sho cuts him off. "You're my soulmate. I can't abandon you when you need me." 

Jun gasps, his eyes filling with tears that he succeeds in keeping under control. "Idiot," he mutters but stops protesting. 

_Thank you,_ Sho hears in his mind later. 

And that's enough to make him feel like he made the right choice. 

The tour is a success, as expected. 

Sho hasn't been home since it started for longer than a couple of days. He knows Jun hasn't returned to Tokyo at all from the very start of the tour, opting to hop from hotel to hotel every time they go to a different city. The limited wardrobe, consisting of mostly oversized t-shirts and sweatpants, as well as the frequent sightings of his stubble and acne marks, make it more evident. 

It's been stressful, as always, but Sho has to say he's enjoyed himself a lot. He's had time to visit some interesting spots around Japan and to eat all kinds of delicious food. All of it with Jun by his side. 

Their coworkers haven't let Jun stay at work after 7 pm on preparation days, and they kick him out of the venue as soon as the concert is over. With his almost-breakdown happening on the very first day of the tour, everyone decided that things couldn't continue that way, as the stress was getting to an unbearable point for him. 

Jun's second-in-command, a young man called Kawai Fumito, has taken it upon himself to inform Jun of his "curfew" every evening. If Jun tries to stay, Kawai starts imitating his gestures and postures (even his voice once) until Jun gets annoyed and leaves. Their stage crew, led by Stage Manager Yamashita Tomohisa, stand in two lines in the hallway as Jun leaves, saying "good night, Your Majesty," when Yamashita prompts them to "make way for the King." 

"They're all bullying me!" Jun complains to Sho. "This is unacceptable! Shouldn't you do something? You're the one in charge!" 

Sho only laughs and holds his hand as he rants. It's a good thing Jun doesn't know they consulted with Sho before going ahead with their, admittedly bizarre, plans to force Jun to rest. 

Delegating tasks has worked well for Jun, no matter how much he protests. He's trained well his staff; they do a magnificent job even without him around. The fact that he's looking a lot more relaxed since they took matters in their own hands has also served as an additional motivation for them to keep it up. They love Jun so much, look up to him so much, that they just want him to be healthy so that he can continue doing what he loves for a long time. Not that they'd ever say that to his face. 

Since Jun is leaving early every day, that means Sho has had to do the same. If not, Jun would probably use him as an excuse to stay a little longer "waiting" for him. It happened twice, and then Kawai scolded Sho for "undermining" the team's plans. That has given them the free time needed to do some sightseeing. Jun is sulking most times when they make him leave, so he just follows Sho while pouting and complaining about how 'unfair' everyone is to him. In a matter of a couple of hours, however, his mood is radically different. He ends up having so much fun that he never wants to go back to the hotel, and Sho has to remind him they have to work very early in the morning. 

Unexpectedly, this has given Sho the chance to see a completely different side of Jun for the two months and a half that the tour has lasted. Jun is a lot sillier than he seems, it reminds Sho of his younger self. Despite appearances, Jun isn't that much different from the person he used to be as a teenager, which Sho finds comforting in a way because he knows how to deal with it—that is, he doesn't repeat any of the things that he's aware Jun resented him for doing back when they were boys. 

He listens to Jun talk for hours about whatever is on his mind. Jun is planning to get a bonsai but is afraid that if he gets one, he won't take care of it properly and the thing will die. He wants to gain more muscle mass, so he's going on a new training regime that Sho should 'totally give a try' with him. He's been considering going on a gluten-free diet. He's been drinking protein shakes lately and hydrogen water. He knows he sounds vain, but he wants to take better care of his body because 'he's not that young anymore', which is also why he's decided to only wear makeup on special occasions since it was making his acne return. He feels self-conscious about his appearance, finds the scars on his face disgusting and doesn't even want to think about how bony and thin he used to be. He's not looking forward to returning to Tokyo because he hates living alone and his apartment reminds him of his ex, and thinking about his ex makes him recall all his insecurities—after all, there must be a reason he was cheated on. 

Sho does his best to be supportive. He tells Jun to get the bonsai, and that he'll help take care of it if Jun has the patience to show him how. He agrees to train with Jun, as long as he doesn't mind Sho being a little rusty because he has been too busy to hit the gym the past few months. He tries not to laugh about the protein drinks and hydrogen water—he doesn't succeed and has to deal with Jun's scowl, but all is forgiven after he buys Jun a six-pack of his favorite hydrogen water bottles. He assures Jun that he isn't vain for taking care of himself and that maybe he should do so too. Jun's right, they're over thirty now. They shouldn't abuse their bodies. 

"And for the record, you're not ugly," Sho says, looking down at Jun, who has his head on Sho's chest. They're in Jun's room, cuddling in Jun's bed because it's one of those nights Jun feels extra lonely and begs (his mind, not his words) Sho to stay over. 

"But I'm not beautiful either, right?" 

Sho grabs him by his chin and lifts his face as if to inspect him. He scrunches up his nose and furrows his eyebrows, humming behind pursed lips. Jun laughs, pointing out how weird he looks like that. 

"Well, your eyebrows are too thick and too perfectly arched, which is disgusting," Sho says, getting a giggle in response. "That nose too… It's not small, and it suits your face too much. Eww." 

Jun grins. "What else?" 

"The eyes. Too brown and big. And look at all those eyelashes! Who needs to have that many, huh? And they're so long too!" Sho clicks his tongue, shaking his head in supposed disapproval. "You have high cheekbones. Nobody wants that, right? And lately, your cheeks are a little chubby, which some may find adorable but I think it's meh. And your lips…" 

"What about them?" 

"They look too soft. What are you trying, to get people to kiss you?" Sho sighs. "And don't get me started on those beauty marks all over your face, or we'll be here all night!" 

Jun smiles as he looks right into Sho's eyes. "What's the verdict, then?" 

"I'm afraid… and I don't know how to make this easier on you, Jun-san, but here it comes." Sho takes a deep breath, giving Jun a serious look. "The only thing wrong with your face is how annoyingly perfect it is." 

Jun bursts out laughing, his cheeks and ears tinted in red. "Ah! What shall I do then!?" 

"You'll just have to live with the fact that you're too handsome, Jun-san, and that you can't even hide that by not wearing makeup and trying to grow a beard." 

"Yeah, well… try telling that to my ex," Jun grumbles. "She said I was ugly without makeup, that my acne marks ruined my face." 

"Who gives a damn about her opinion? Just knowing that she cheated on you—which wasn't your fault, by the way—it's evident she has a shitty taste!" Sho replies. "How did you end up dating someone like that?" 

"Low self-esteem?" Jun says with a sad smile. "She was nice to me during a time that very few people seemed to care about me. I guess I didn't notice her bad points because of that." 

Sho frowns. "Wait, since when were you dating her? How didn't I notice?" 

Jun bites his lower lip and looks away. "Senior year of high school. But that's all in the past. It doesn't matter." 

Except it does. And Sho can't stop thinking about all the things he never saw the past twenty years because he was too busy with his own life, considering Jun an intruder at best. Those things left marks that Jun tries to downplay, but Sho is certain that he wouldn't have become so obsessed with perfection without them, at least not to the point of sacrificing his well-being to achieve his self-imposed standards. It's why he keeps this 'cool and stoic' image when presenting himself to society, only shedding it around the people he values. And lately, that includes Sho, which makes Sho happy in a way he never expected. 

He wants things to stay the way they are right now. Jun has opened up to him. They're no longer acquaintances that go way back, but _friends._ That's a _huge_ step. The prospect of sharing his life with Jun doesn't sound too bad anymore. 

Nino and Satoshi tell him that he should be careful. "We _love_ that you're spending time together, but you have to be clear about your intentions," Nino says. 

"I don't understand." 

"You have any idea how easy it is to fall for someone when they share a telepathic bond with you?" Nino arches an eyebrow with him. "It's why most soulmates who meet end up becoming a couple sooner or later!" 

"I'm just being friendly!" Sho defends himself. 

"You're spoiling him, Sho-yan," Nino says. "You indulge him in whatever he wants, whenever he wants it. You dedicate most of your free time to hanging out with him. Heck, you've _cancelled_ on your fiancé several times just to be with him!" 

He has. Aiba has visited him a few times, hoping to spend the night, but half of those Sho has ended up staying with Jun instead. Aiba has been oddly accommodating, sometimes choosing for Sho. Perhaps it's his way to try gaining Jun's favor—it _is_ working, as Jun has recently decided that he thinks Aiba is a 'very nice guy'. 

"If he isn't in love with you already, he'll get a crush on you sooner or later," Nino warns him. 

While Sho appreciates his friends' advice, he doesn't think it's that serious. He discusses it with Aiba, but this time Aiba is entirely on Nino's side. 

"You know, if we had a different kind of relationship, I'd be afraid you're having an emotional affair with him," Aiba says. "We're not that kind of couple, and I _did_ tell you I'm totally on board with you bonding more with your soulmate, but I can see why Nino thinks Jun-kun could fall for you." 

"Huh…" Sho's shoulders slump as he sighs. "I guess it must be true if two different people can see it." 

"Say, Sho-chan… do you have any feelings for Jun-kun?" 

Sho shakes his head. "Not romantic ones. I care about him, but it's never been _that_ way." 

"Not even now?" 

"No, not really," Sho replies. Aiba doesn't look very convinced. "I'm in a relationship with _you._ Even if we're not that kind of couple, I'm very serious about us." 

After that conversation, Sho decides it's better to establish some boundaries with Jun, lest he'll get the wrong idea. There are only a couple of weeks left of the tour, so he has to keep Jun company after work, but he does his best to avoid spending the night with him. He makes plans to go out by himself or gets someone else to entertain Jun a few times. He hopes it'll get his message across. 

It's the second to last day of the tour when Jun protests about the change. 

"Did I do anything wrong?" Jun asks, his eyes huge and worried. They're outside of Sho's room, and Sho just said he'd turn in for the night. 

"Why would you ask that?" 

Jun folds his arms across his chest. "You've been avoiding me," he says. "You don't want to spend the night with me anymore?" 

"You want to?" 

"I told you, didn't I? Sleeping next to you makes my insomnia go away." 

For a moment, Sho wonders if that's why he's seemed more tired lately. He feels a bit guilty. 

"Fine, come here." 

They sleep pressed against each other. Jun sighs happily as he wraps an arm around Sho's body. "It'll be very hard to go back home…" Jun mumbles. "I hate sleeping alone." 

Sho laughs. "Can't help you with that, sorry." 

The last day of the tour is Jun's birthday. 

Sho wakes up with Jun wrapped around him, holding on to him so tight he can hardly move. "Jun-san…" he taps on Jun's arm. "Jun-san…" 

There's a whine, after which Jun snuggles up to him. "Five minutes," he mumbles. 

"We're going to be late," Sho says. 

"Don't care, it's my birthday," Jun replies, letting out a sigh. "I'm allowed to be late today." 

Sho laughs, shaking his head. "Come on…" He struggles to break free, but Jun doesn't let go of him. 

_It's the last time we wake up like this. I want to savor it._

He stops, resigning himself to being cuddled for another while. He feels Jun smile, burying his face into Sho's nape. 

"We can't take long. They'll start wondering where we are," Sho says. 

"Kawai-kun can take care of everything," Jun mumbles. "I need my birthday cuddle dose." 

Sho hums. "We'll do this every year on your birthday from now on, then?" 

"Nah, just this time," Jun says. "Next year, you'll be a married man. We won't be able to do this." 

"Right…" 

After a short moment of silence, Jun finally sits up. He smiles when Sho turns around to look at him. 

"Happy birthday, Jun-san." 

"Thank you, Sho-kun." 

They get ready at Sho's room. Jun borrows the biggest t-shirt he can find and Sho's newest jeans, which have a very distinctive red patch in one knee. Then they go for breakfast, and for once Jun eats more than Sho does. 

"Birthday is one of my cheat days," Jun says in between bites of his second sandwich. "Tomorrow it's back to usual." 

Sho shoots him an amused look and lets Jun steal some food from his plate. It's his birthday, he’ll let him get away with it. 

When they arrive at work, everyone greets Jun with bright smiles, wishing him the happiest day. Jun only beams back at them, saying "it already got to a perfect start," whatever he means by that. 

Nino and Ohno inform Jun that they have organized a party for him and that he can't refuse to go. "We wanted to make it a surprise, but Oh-chan was scared that you'd do the same thing you did to poor Toma-kun when he threw one for you on your thirtieth birthday." 

Sho arches an eyebrow, giving Jun a questioning look that is only answered by a 'long story', whispered in Sho's mind. 

"Besides, it's also the end of the tour. Everyone wants to celebrate," Nino continues. "So? You game?" 

Jun rolls his eyes, letting out a groan that hides very well how happy he is for the news—not that he can hide that from Sho. "Do I have a choice?" 

Nino and Ohno beam at him and go to have their customary workout before the show. 

Everything goes without a hitch. Around nine, after having a generous dinner, the whole crew is at the hotel's rooftop bar, which Nino somehow managed to rent for the party on surprisingly short notice. The power of idols. 

Jun is having a grand time. He's so drunk that his face is all red, and he laughs at almost everything he hears. He only returns to Sho's side when he gets tired of dancing. 

"This is the best birthday I've had in years," Jun says, his head leaning on Sho's shoulder. "Don't tell Nino." 

"My lips are sealed," Sho replies, handing Jun a glass of water. 

"Aww, thank you!" Jun coos. He sips the water slowly, giving Sho a sheepish smile. "Looking out for me… that's so you, Sho-kun." 

He giggles and drapes an arm around Sho's shoulders. 

"But why are you sitting here all alone? You should be having fun!" 

"I wasn't alone," Sho says. "I was with Nino and Satoshi-kun, but they're dancing now." 

Jun hums, turning his head to confirm that, indeed, their friends are now on the dancing floor, performing some quite impressive moves. Then he sighs, turning to look at Sho with a pout. 

"I envy them so much!" Jun says. "I wish I had what they have." 

Sho frowns. "You mean good rhythm? Because you're not so bad at dancing yourself. Although you kind of remind me of a mollusk when you move…" 

"Not that, you idiot!" Jun clicks his tongue. "I mean their relationship, their _bond._ It must be so nice to be with your soulmate every day, and to love them and know that they feel the same way." 

Jun sniffs, giving Sho a sad look. "Why can't I have that, Sho-kun?" 

Sho doesn't know how to answer, so he remains quiet. He gasps when Jun cups his face with both hands. 

"Tell me, Sho-kun, what's so wrong with me that you'd rather go ahead and marry some other guy you don't love?" 

Sho feels his cheeks burning. He laughs nervously, averting his eyes from Jun's intense gaze. "Alright, you're definitely too drunk," he says. "Maybe it's time you call it a n—" 

He freezes. Jun is kissing him. 

He tries to resist the pull he immediately feels, but it's too strong. Jun's lips are as soft as they look. He kisses with passion, with desperation, and Sho is more into it than he'd like to admit. He's aroused, he doesn't want it to ever end. Nobody had ever kissed him so well. _Is this why they call it a perfect match?_

He comes to his senses when Jun moves one of his hands to rest on Sho's waist, sensing it wouldn't just stay there for long. He pushes Jun away forcefully, almost making him fall off his chair. 

Jun gives him a shocked look. "S-Sho-kun…" 

Sho stands up and immediately walks away, ignoring Jun's calls of his name. He gets to his room feeling confused. He feels mad when he looks down at his wrist and sees Jun's signature there. 

"Why did he have to do that!?" 

There's some bandage tape in his bathroom. He had bought it for Nino but ended up bringing the rest of it with him back to his hotel room. He tears a piece, just enough to cover his soulmate mark, and secures it in place. 

He doesn't feel any reaction from Jun, so he guesses it'll be okay. 

A full month passes since then and Sho doesn't talk to Jun. 

They have a couple of events to plan together, so they still see each other during meetings, but Sho does his best not to say anything directly to him. Jun doesn't try to contact him either, which Sho supposes is for the best. Everyone is surprised at the change. Sho's parents—now happily divorced after months of paperwork—are worried. Jun's parents too, but Sho only knows because his mom keeps him updated. 

"Matsumoto-san told me that Jun-chan seems to be in very low spirits lately," she says. "He's not going out too often, and he looks exhausted all the time." 

"Well, you know how he is when he's working on a project. Bet he's staying at work until dawn like other times," Sho simply says. 

"Kawai-kun said that you were helping them to keep him from overworking, but that you suddenly stopped." 

"I was, yes." 

"Why did you stop, then?" 

Sho looks away. "That's between Jun-san and me, mother." 

A couple of days later, Kawai himself comes to Sho's office, accompanied by Arata and Utahiroba, another two of Jun's subordinates. 

"You _have_ to do something, Sakurai-san! Jun-san will die of exhaustion at this rate!" Kawai says. 

"He collapsed yesterday," Arata says, sounding quite concerned. "Today he has a migraine, but he won't leave no matter what we do!" 

Sho pinches the bridge of his nose. "Can't you just get out that bed you have for him?" 

"We tried, but that didn't work either," Utahiroba replies. He comes up to Sho's desk with a frown etched on his face. "He's your _soulmate,_ Sakurai-san. You need to help him." 

Sho genuinely thinks that everyone is exaggerating. After all, he hasn't felt any distress or tiredness from Jun lately, and their telepathic bond is pretty strong, so he's certain he would have been alerted already if something like that was happening. 

"Alright," he says anyway. "I'll check on him." 

When he gets to the meeting room, he finds an unexpected image. 

Jun has lost weight. He looks tiny in the oversized t-shirt—Sho _hopes_ it's oversized—he's wearing. He has a light pink towel wrapped around his head, holding a few ice packs in place. It'd be funny if Jun didn't look like he'll faint anytime. 

Sho's eyes are wide in shock. _How come I didn't notice this?_

"S-Sho-k… Sakurai-san, what are you doing here?" Jun gives him a sad look. 

"I should ask the same," Sho replies. He walks up to Jun and pulls him up by an arm. "Come on. I'll take you home." 

"No need, I'm fine," Jun says. "It's just a headache." 

"Don't lie!" Sho snaps. He feels frustrated because, for some reason, he can't read Jun's mind or feel him at all right now. _Is he shielding? Is that why I can't feel him?_

Jun bares his teeth at him and yanks his arm away from Sho's hold. "I fucking said I'm fine. Now leave me alone!" 

"Suit yourself!" 

Sho turns to leave, but he doesn't make it out of the room before Jun faints. He ends up taking Jun home but doesn't stay for long, choosing to call Toma for help instead. Jun doesn't seem to want him around anyway. 

"Again?" is what Toma asks Jun when he arrives. "What the fuck, MatsuJun?" 

"What do you mean again?" 

Jun replies before Toma can speak. "None of your business. You may go now. Toma can take care of me." 

"Jun-san…" 

"Just go!" 

Sho leaves reluctantly after Toma assures him that he will call if anything happens. Sho can't sleep the whole night, worried sick about Jun. 

Aiba notices his concern the next day when they're having lunch together. "What happened, Sho-chan?" 

"Jun-san has been shielding for a month," Sho says. "I don't know when he became this good, but I haven't felt him at all since the tour ended." 

"What happened? Did you guys fight?" 

Sho looks down, biting his lip as he recalls the night of Jun's birthday. "Not exactly, but something similar, you could say. I haven't talked to him since then." 

Aiba gives him a sympathetic look. "I'm so sorry, Sho-chan." 

Sho sighs, checking the menu with less interest than usual. He hears Aiba gasp after a while and turns to see what Aiba is looking at. 

Jun is standing a couple of meters away from them, eyes trained on Sho. His fists are clenched at his sides. He still looks weak and tired, but also a bit angry. Aiba waves at him, inviting him to join their table. Jun accepts, taking a seat across the two of them. He orders very little to eat, arguing that he's on a diet—Sho wants to say that's a lie. 

They start talking while they wait for their food. And it goes well for about five minutes until Sho and Aiba's upcoming wedding and honeymoon plans are mentioned. Jun's eyebrows furrow deeper as Aiba tells him the details, saying that they'll have their week-long honeymoon in Hawaii. 

"Sho-chan already planned each of the seven days we'll be there!" Aiba comments with a laugh, not noticing the murderous look on Jun's face. "I think he even arranged the slots for having sex in his schedule!" 

Then, Aiba innocently places a hand over Sho's, which is the detonator for Jun's rage. 

They observe in shock as Jun jumps out of his seat and pushes Aiba away from Sho while screeching something unintelligible. He grabs Sho's hand tightly, glaring at Aiba in a way that makes even Sho tremble in horror. 

"Jun-san…" 

At hearing Sho's voice, Jun turns to look at him. His gaze immediately softens, and he goes pale as a ghost. "N-No… this isn't…" he mumbles, looking like he will break down in tears. He lets go of Sho's hand, gives Aiba a quick apology, and takes off running. 

Sho is still in shock when Aiba taps on his shoulder. 

"What did you do?" 

Sho frowns. "I did nothing!" 

Aiba narrows his eyes at him. "Show me your wrist." 

Sho pulls up his sleeve, revealing that he's still keeping the mark covered, not just with a bandage but also with a watch for good measure. 

"How could you!?" Aiba snaps at him. "This is why he's acting like this!" 

"Wait, wasn't this one a superstition?" 

"Sho-chan… at this point, I'd expect you would have understood already that _all_ the so-called superstitions about soulmates are _true,_ " Aiba replies. "He's not shielding, Sho-chan, you are. Not only that, but he must also be feeling like you have dropped dead." 

Sho pales. "I… I didn't think this would be so serious!" 

"Why did you do it? Why did you cover it?" 

Sho looks down. "He… He kissed me…" 

Aiba blinks. "What?" 

"He kissed me, and I liked it, but I freaked out because that wasn't supposed to happen!" Sho admits. "I'm so sorry!" 

Aiba clicks his tongue. He calls a waiter and asks him to make their order to go. Then he turns to give Sho a disapproving look. 

"It's not me that you hurt, Sho-chan, so don't apologize," he says. "You'd better save that for him. The poor guy must be devastated! He takes a shot to show his soulmate how he feels, and his soulmate cuts their bond for a month _and_ doesn't talk to him either? That's harsh, Sho-chan. It's too big a punishment for just one kiss." 

"You think he has feelings for me?" 

Aiba gives him a disbelieving look. "Really, Sho-chan? You just saw what happened and you _still_ doubt it? Poor MatsuJun!" he shakes his head. "I heard from a friend that the more you love your soulmate, the worse it is when they cover the mark." 

Sho looks down at his wrist, feeling guilty. 

The waiter returns with a large bag, which Aiba hands to Sho. "For you guys, my treat," Aiba says. "Go see him now, Sho-chan. He must be waiting." 

"You think?" 

"I'm _certain,_ " Aiba replies. "Don't be surprised if he gets too physical with you. Just go with it. I'm sure you'll enjoy it too." 

He gives Sho a wink—what Aiba thinks a wink is—and shoos him away as he calls the waiter to order more food for himself. 

Sho leaves the restaurant feeling restless. He hasn't uncovered the mark, deciding to come clean with Jun and let him do it. He finds Jun's apartment's door open. A pair of slippers is ready at the genkan. Seems Jun was waiting after all. 

When he comes in, Jun is pacing around the living room, eyes suspiciously red-rimmed. Sho doesn't comment on it and just places the bag on Jun's coffee table. 

Jun walks up to him looking almost fearful. "I'm sorry, Sho-kun! I swear I don't know what got into me!" he says. "I-It's just that… h-he touched you, and I was so angry, and I know I have no right because he's your future husband, but—" 

Sho shushes him and pulls him into a hug. He leads Jun to the couch, where they take a seat. "Jun-san, don't apologize. It was my fault." 

Jun frowns. "Why do you say that?" 

Sho takes a deep breath and shows Jun his wrist. Jun's expression changes to a furious one when he sees the watch covering the mark. Without waiting for an explanation, he aggressively rips it off from Sho's wrist and throws it on the floor—Sho is pretty sure the thing is busted now. Jun grumbles as he sees the bandage and takes it off too with one strong pull, making Sho hiss. 

Jun's face lights up as he sees the mark again, tracing it softly with his fingertips. He closes his eyes and heaves a sigh, a smile spreading on his lips. "You're regretting it. That's good," he says. "Not enough to forgive you, but it's a start, I guess." 

Sho gasps when Jun looks into his eyes. He can feel it again, the familiar whirlwind that are Jun's emotions. He closes his eyes when Jun leans closer, but Jun pinches his arm. 

"Look at me," Jun says. 

Sho shivers in anticipation as Jun's face gets closer. They kiss while staring into each other's eyes. If it was anyone else, Sho would feel strange, but he doesn't. Especially when, for the first time in what feels like forever, he hears Jun's thoughts. 

_You are mine._

It makes Sho gasp, which Jun takes as a chance to slip his tongue past Sho's lips. Sho moans when their tongues come in contact and adjusts the position of his head to let Jun have deeper access. He's getting into it, just like the last time. But it's Jun who pulls away now. 

"S-Sorry!" Jun says. He covers his face with his hands as he struggles to catch his breath. "I shouldn't have done that." 

Sho takes his hands, making Jun look at him. His face and ears are flushed, and Sho finds him adorable. Sho smiles at him and pecks his lips again, chuckling when Jun eagerly replies with a long kiss. He laughs again when Jun stands up and pulls him by his hand to lead him to the bedroom. 

Jun makes Sho sit on the bed, then climbs on his lap, leaving each knee on either side of Sho's body. "Stop me," he moans in Sho's ear as he slips his hands under Sho's t-shirt. "Do it now, or I won't be able to control myself anymore." 

Sho kisses the corner of Jun's mouth. "Go ahead," he says. 

The moment Sho says that, it's like he flips a switch. Jun had been suppressing his lust, probably shielding it so that Sho wouldn't feel it. And it's _intoxicating._ He discovers at that moment that when a feeling of that nature is shared through a bond, it becomes amplified. He's so aroused when Jun starts touching him, undressing him. He lets Jun do whatever he wants at his pace, sensing that despite Sho's willingness, Jun is quite nervous. 

_Fuck, he'll be so turned off when he sees me naked…_

Sho rolls his eyes and pulls up Jun's shirt, making him yelp in surprise. "Don't put yourself down, Jun-san. You're very attractive," he says. He runs his hands along Jun's sides, smiling when he notices that the beauty marks, so abundant in Jun's face and arms, are also present in his torso. 

"I'm a stick," Jun mumbles. "While you… well, you look like a fucking sex god." 

Sho looks down at himself. He's been exercising more often the last month, so his abs and arms look more defined. "I do not," he says. "I'm just normal." 

"Then what am I, if you're just 'normal'? 

"You're gorgeous." 

Jun shuts his mouth, the tips of his ears going bright red. Sho takes advantage of the moment to pull down Jun's pants. He grins when Jun does the same to him, mashes their lips together as they start stroking each other's erection. 

It's a couple of minutes later when Jun whispers in Sho's ear that this isn't all he wants. "I want you inside me," Jun says, hissing as Sho rubs the head of his cock. 

There's lube in the bathroom, but Jun almost doesn't want to let Sho go get it. When Sho comes back, Jun gives him a warning. "I've never been on the receiving end," he says. 

Sho hums. "We'll take it slow, don't worry." 

The preparation takes long. Sho makes Jun sit on his lap again. Jun is a little scared when Sho inserts the first finger. His eyes go wide and he grabs Sho's arm. After a while, he nods to let Sho now he can go on. It's only after the third finger that Jun seems to start enjoying it. He rocks his hips, biting on his lower lip to muffle his moans. 

"Don't do that," Sho says, smacking Jun's behind with his other hand. Jun grunts, this time loudly, giving Sho a wanton look. "You liked that?" 

"Maybe…" Jun says in a low voice and is interrupted by another smack. 

"Don't mumble either," Sho says. He kisses Jun's neck, smiling as his fingers hit Jun's spot, making him curse out loud. 

"I'm ready," Jun says. 

To ease Jun's nerves, Sho told Jun to ride him this time, so that he can take control of everything. It works, and Jun has no reservations in informing Sho how much he's liking it as he takes Sho deeper and deeper inside him. He rolls his hips, throwing his head back as Sho starts thrusting up to match his pace. He's so sexy. Sho feels like he could stare at him forever like that, sweaty, lost in pleasure. 

Jun starts touching himself. He comes all over his hand with Sho still buried inside him. He collapses on top of Sho with a sated smile, pulls him for a quick kiss. 

"Keep going," he says. He makes Sho sit up, holds on to Sho's shoulders as Sho continues thrusting into him. He whines, digging his nails into Sho's skin as Sho fucks him harder. And when Sho comes inside him, he lets out a sigh. 

"Wow…" he says, chuckling as Sho tries to regain his breath. He slowly moves to let Sho pull out, and then lies on the mattress right next to him. "So that's how it is." 

Sho lies on his side so that he can face Jun directly. "Was it good?" 

Jun gives him a sheepish smile. "It was. Thanks." 

Sho kisses his cheek. He didn't expect this to ever happen, but now that it has, he has to admit it was _great._ Part of him wants _more,_ but he doesn't know if they should do it. 

Jun pushes him, making his back touch the mattress again, then rolls on top of him. "Of course you want more. You'll always want more if it's me," he says. 

Sho blushes. He forgot to shield that thought. "Aren't you being a little cocky?" 

"You really know nothing, do you?" Jun shakes his head, letting out a sigh. "I'm your perfect match, remember? That goes for both your soul _and_ body, Sho-kun. It simply won't ever get any better with someone else." 

"Huh… see, I didn't know that part," Sho says. He kisses Jun's forehead when he notices Jun scowling at him. "My parents aren't soulmates, Jun-san. They've never met their soulmates either. We never talked much about this stuff at home." 

Jun sighs. "Yeah, I know…" he gives Sho a short kiss on the lips. "That's why you don't want me and keep going with your plans to marry Aiba-san…" 

He goes still after saying the name. Then he sits up hurriedly, muttering something between his teeth. 

"He knows I'm here," Sho says. "He kind of scolded me for what happened, and then he said I should come here and go with whatever you wanted to do." 

Jun gives him a worried look. Sho sighs and pulls him down, wrapping his arms around Jun's waist as they kiss. "Won't you guys have trouble because of this?" 

Sho grins. "It's fine, Jun-san." 

Jun doesn't seem too convinced, but he still lets Sho explore his body, eyes closed as Sho's mouth and fingers reach every inch of his skin. He's lying on his back the second time Sho takes him, legs wrapped around Sho's waist and nails raking streaks up and down Sho's back. 

It's much later when they come out of the bedroom to eat. 

Sho spends the night with Jun, mostly kissing but also talking about what today's events mean for their relationship. 

"We don't have to do it ever again," Jun says. "I doubt Aiba-san would like you to sleep with another man now that you're getting married." 

It's the only logical course of action, they both agree. They should also limit the physical contact, maybe replace it with more eye contact. 

"Sadly, that means this is our last cuddle too," Jun sighs. "I'll miss it." 

"Me too," Sho admits. 

The next morning, Sho has a hard time keeping his hands off Jun. He feels less shitty about it when he notices Jun is having the same problem. They manage to get ready and have breakfast without jumping each other's bones, so that's a good start. The drive to work together is a nightmare—Jun is so, _so close,_ and if Sho just moved his hand a little to the side… 

It's a miracle that they make it to the office without even sneaking a quick kiss. 

The rest of the week is a huge struggle for both of them. Aiba isn't in town, so Sho hasn't talked to him yet, but he hopes his urges to bang Jun over the nearest available surface will have faded by the time they meet. 

It doesn't happen, actually. Days later, on his way out to see Aiba, who is waiting outside the building for him, Sho runs into Jun. He looks a bit disheveled after a long day of work, dark circles forming under his eyes. And for a second Sho thinks _'I could help with that',_ but he stops that train of thought before it can transform into something more dangerous. 

Jun comes out of the building a few steps behind him, which means Aiba sees him too. He immediately goes up to the two of them. 

"Oh, good, you're together!" Aiba says with a grin. "I think the three of us should have this conversation." 

He drags Jun to the car first, telling Sho to follow. As he has no other choice, Sho does as he's told. Aiba takes them to his apartment, where he sets to make dinner for three. 

Jun is silent while they eat, barely raising his eyes from his plate. Aiba does most of the talking, asking Sho how work has been lately. As usual, he likes to hear the details, even if he admits he has no idea about event planning. 

"So, Sho-chan… how did it go the other day? Did you guys fuck?" 

Jun almost chokes on his wine. He coughs loudly, his face flushed. Aiba just laughs and pats Jun's back. 

"I'll take that as a yes," Aiba says. 

"I… I'm sorry…" Jun starts, only to be silenced by Aiba. 

"Oh, don't worry! I assumed you guys would end up boning that day. It's what my friend did with his soulmate the day he uncovered his mark after keeping it hidden for a week!" Aiba laughs. "See, physical contact strengthens the bond, so it's normal that after a period of deprivation from telepathy, your bodies will want to compensate! Sex is the most intimate kind of physical contact after all!" 

"You seem very knowledgeable," Jun comments. "Do you have a soulmate mark already?" 

"Nope," Aiba says. "According to this watch my friend gave me, I have less than a month left before my twelve thousandth day." 

He shows his wrist, where the device is keeping the countdown. Indeed, in around three weeks, Aiba will no longer be unmatched. 

"I didn't care much about soulmates, you know? Most of the people I know who have marks have never met their soulmate. Nobody in my family has met their soulmate," Aiba explains. "I started getting more interested after Sho-chan showed me his and told me that he had already met his soulmate. I hope you don't mind that he's been talking to me about his experiences with you." 

"No, not at all…" 

"Anyway… the thing is, I thought this wouldn't change a thing. But I was wrong." 

Sho and Jun freeze. They exchange concerned looks. 

"Sho-chan…" Aiba sighs. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I can't marry you." 

Jun stands up. "Aiba-san, don't—" 

"Before you say anything," Aiba cuts him off, "let's talk. Just the two of us." 

They leave for Aiba's room, meaning that Sho is alone at the table. And he's in shock. He was so invested in making this work. Sure, he wasn't in love, but he had started imagining and making plans with Aiba as his husband in mind. He thought this would be it, that they'd settle down, maybe have a couple of dogs, adopt a kid or two in a few years. He thought his years of loneliness were over. And that's without mentioning the potential merger! 

His mood deflates. He feels so damn disappointed. If he hadn't covered his mark, none of this would be happening. He and Jun could have just talked it out, set some rules. He was so stupid, and now he's reaping the consequences. 

Aiba and Jun come out a while later. Jun hurriedly grabs his jacket and leaves without saying a word. He looks pretty upset. 

"I hope he won't be mad at me forever," Aiba says. He goes back to his chair, smiling at Sho. "Are you mad at me too?" 

"No," Sho says. "I mean… I slept with another man. It's only normal." 

"It wasn't just _another_ man, Sho-chan. It was your _soulmate,_ " Aiba says. "I wouldn't mind if it had been someone else, but it was _him_! 

"It's not different!" 

Aiba shakes his head. "You know it is. And while I think that soulmates aren't the only people someone can be happy with, the moment two soulmates cross that line, there's no going back!" 

"Are you saying that I won't be able to be with anyone else from now on?" 

"Not without thinking that he's much better or that you're betraying him," Aiba replies. "You'll start getting more attached to him too." 

"How can you know!?" Sho snaps. "I can't believe you suddenly sound like everyone else!" 

"It's because I've seen it!" Aiba protests. "It'll happen, Sho-chan, and I don't want you to be stuck with me while you develop feelings for him." 

Sho shakes his head in disbelief. "I thought you were different." 

"And I thought you'd be reasonable enough to admit you had it all wrong. Guess we both ended up disappointed." 

Sho leaves after that, feeling the slightest bit angry. How could Aiba do that to him? Why is everyone so invested on making him go against his nature and just accept whatever his destiny has marked for him? 

He finds Jun outside, sitting under a tree with his knees hugged against his chest. He wonders what Aiba told him that made him so upset. 

"Go away," Jun says. "I don't want to see you now." 

"Can't do," Sho says. "Soulmate duty." 

Jun looks up at him angrily. "You have no duty towards me!" he says. He gets to his feet and walks up to Sho. "You don't have to do things you don't want to do just because of a stupid mark. Heck, cover it up again if you want! I won't complain!" 

"But it hurts you!" 

"So what? Just keep on ignoring me like you used to do. I don't need your pity." 

"It's not pity! I care about you!" 

"Yeah, but why is it?" Jun glares at Sho. "Is it for _me,_ or is it because you feel what I feel and that means you can't just push it to the back of your mind?" 

"It's because it's _you,_ " Sho replies. 

"Liar!" 

Sho embraces him. Jun sets his hands on Sho's chest, sniffing a little. "I'm sorry for ruining your wedding," Jun says. 

"It's not your fault but mine." 

Jun is about to protest when Sho kisses him. He pouts after it, telling Sho to never do that again. 

They go to Sho's place together. Sho doesn't want to be alone tonight, so they cuddle. And while he's a little annoyed with the way things are turning out, Sho feels quite comfortable when he falls asleep between Jun's arms. 

The month after Aiba calls off the wedding is pretty hard for Sho. 

His family thinks it's for the best. Aiba's parents seem to concur. It takes only a few weeks for them to find an alternative to the merger, and around the end of October, they announce that the Aiba and Sakurai Groups now own J-Storm in equal shares. The Sakurai Group will have Cherry Blossom Productions' main event planning team, led by Jun, transferred to work exclusively for J-storm. Jun will be the agency's executive producer, and everything, from music videos to concert production, will be under his control. Sho, on the other hand, has been promoted to COO for the Sakurai Group. It's going to be a big change for him, even bigger than it will be for Jun. 

There's a lot of paperwork to be done during that first month, tons of meetings to attend. Sho has no time to think about anything except for work, which is great because he dreads the thought of socializing right now. He doesn't need to hear his friends congratulating him on not marrying the man he had chosen to be his life partner. 

He sees Jun at least once a day. Jun goes out of his way to drop by his office every evening with the excuse of having dinner together. Sho's new assistant, his old friend Ueda Tatsuya, always thanks Jun for it. 

"If it wasn't for Matsumoto-san, you wouldn't remember to go home, aniki," Ueda says. 

Sho doesn't know if Jun decided to do so, or it's just that Kawai, Arata, and Utahiroba are still using him to make Jun keep a normal work schedule. He appreciates it anyway. It's evident by Jun's haggard look most times that they both need it. 

They don't talk about work when they meet. They never mention Aiba either—Sho suspects the topic is a lot more sensitive for Jun than it is for him. Instead, they discuss other aspects of their lives. 

Jun finally got two bonsai trees for his apartment, which he keeps on the veranda. One is a pine tree, the other is a cherry tree. He named them, but he changes the topic when Sho asks what the names are. 

They're Junnosuke and Show. Sho won't tell him he read his mind to find out, though. 

Sho got some new shelves for his snow globe collection. Jun demands to see it the very moment Sho mentions it. He had no idea that Sho collected snow globes. He sleeps over at Sho's place the night he goes to see it. 

Jun is thinking of getting highlights. Sho tells him he should get a perm, as he did once when he was younger. Jun says curly hair doesn't go well with his clothes. Sho doesn't see his point. 

Sho is planning to still go on that trip to Hawaii. To his surprise, what Jun asks is whether he can join. And Sho says yes. Everything was booked for two people anyway. Besides, with all the work they're having lately, Sho thinks they both deserve a break. 

Jun's friends have been asking about Sho. They decide to meet a couple of them together, just so that they can get off Jun's back. 

Nino and Ohno have also been asking. They've gone the extra mile, though, and told Jun they'll have lunch together when they move to their new place. Yes, they got a bigger house recently. Sho had no idea. Jun says laughingly that Ohno only moved there because it's close to the harbor, making this phase one for him eventually getting that boat he's been dreaming to have ever since he became a fishing enthusiast. 

That's how days go by. 

But on November 1st, Sho gets an unexpected visitor. 

"Uh, aniki, Aiba Masaki-san is here to see you," Ueda announces. 

Sho hasn't talked to him since the night they broke their engagement. He has to admit he's still a bit annoyed at Aiba's decision. He holds no grudge against the man, though. Aiba was nothing but nice to him from the moment they first met. 

Aiba looks like he's almost bouncing when he comes in. Sho doesn't know why he's here, certainly not for work. He's J-Storm's new president. Jun has been in a few meetings with him, but he hasn't shared any details with Sho regarding that. 

"Oh, Sho-chan! It's so good to see you!" Aiba says. He goes up to Sho and hugs him so tight Sho thinks he won't be able to breathe. "How have you been? How's work?" 

"Busy," Sho replies with a little laugh. "What about you? It must be hard to work with idols." 

"It is, but I'm having so much fun!" Aiba says. "I'm planning so many changes for the agency, it's going to be _crazy_!" 

He rambles on, talking about lifting the ban on social media accounts for their talents, creating content for streaming platforms, entering the international market instead of staying just in Japan as they've done until now. He says it'll take one or two years tops to have it all nicely planned. 

"MatsuJun is going to be helping me out. He's given me a lot of things to think about," he says. "He's kind of a genius, your soulmate." 

Sho grins. "Yeah, I agree." 

"Talking about soulmates… guess what happened this morning?" Aiba giggles nervously, his left hand twitching slightly. 

"Wait… is it…?" 

"My twelve thousandth day," Aiba nods. "November 1st, 2015." 

"Well, and?" Sho laughs as Aiba turns all red. "You know who it is?" 

"I do, yeah," Aiba replies. "Kazama-pon, an old friend of mine. We went to middle school together. He's never changed the way he signs his name since age fourteen." 

"That's great!" 

Aiba scrunches up his face, making a weird little noise. "Ah, I don't know about that…" he says. "I haven't seen him since our graduation. Who knows what kind of person he's become since then!" 

"You're terrified, aren't you?" 

"Kind of!" Aiba laughs. "I mean, I know nothing guarantees I'll meet him again, but what if I do? Telepathy with a stranger sounds a bit scary." 

Sho can't comment on that. After all, he's one of those people who lucked out. His soulmate has been around since forever. And while there wasn't exactly a deep friendship between them at first, they knew they could trust each other not to take advantage of the situation. 

"Don't overthink." Sho shrugs. "As you say, it's not so likely that you'll meet again right away. It could be months, even years before it happens. And when it does, well… guess you'll know what to do then. You can always ask me if you need my advice." 

"Really!? Can I?" Aiba beams at him and gives him another big hug. "Thank you, Sho-chan." 

"That's what friends are for, right?" Sho replies. 

Friends. Yes, they can be friends now, that'd be fantastic. 

They go for lunch together. It's not awkward, thank goodness. If anything, Sho feels things flow a lot more smoothly now. Perhaps they were right in not getting married. They fit much better like this. 

"So… how is it going between you and MatsuJun?" Aiba asks. "He doesn't talk to me unless it's for work. I think I really offended him at that time." 

Sho snorts. "No shit. I don't know what you did that night, but he was upset for a few days." 

"Ah, I'm afraid that's a secret, sorry," Aiba replies. "But anyway, how are you guys doing?" 

"Fine, I guess. Same as usual," Sho says. "We meet almost every day lately. I haven't confirmed it yet, but I think his team is sending him to see me so that he doesn't overwork." 

"Are you sure it just isn't that he misses having you close?" Aiba smirks. 

"Yeah, right…" Sho laughs. "We don't have that kind of relationship, Aiba-chan. We're… friends, I guess." 

"What!? Just friends!?" Aiba seems surprised. "I thought you guys would get together for sure!" 

"Wouldn't it be too soon?" 

Aiba arches an eyebrow at him. "It's been almost a year since your mark appeared! And, unlike the rest of us, you go to see MatsuJun first thing in the morning after that happened. So, no, I don't think it's too soon at all. If anything, judging by how fast your bond has evolved, you guys are going way too slowly." 

Sho sighs. "See, the thing is… I don't think we have to get together just because we're supposedly a 'perfect match'," he starts. "I'm not saying it'll never happen either, it's just… it feels too rushed. I'm sorry, Aiba-chan, but could you try to see it my way? I've never thought of Jun-san as a potential romantic partner. I don't think it'll be so bad to be with him for the rest of my life, but I want to do it on my terms. Being friends feels good right now! Why can't I just do that?" 

Aiba hums. "I guess that makes sense," he says. "What a shame, though. You'd make a cute couple." 

Thankfully, Aiba changes topics right at that moment. They part ways after lunch, promising to keep in touch. Aiba gives Sho another hug as they say goodbye. 

"Not to be annoying, Sho-chan, but do think about it. What do you lose by giving Jun-san a chance? You might even like him after all!" 

Sho sighs. "We'll see." 

A few days later, Sho and Jun leave for Hawaii. Jun is pretty excited, his emotions are all over the place—happy ones, for a change. He falls asleep on the plane, but as soon as they land, he's back to his excited mood. Sho discovers he likes to see him like this. Too bad it's so rare. 

The resort’s concierge greets them with two flutes of champagne, congratulating them on their wedding. Right, Sho forgot to cancel that part of their reservation. He supposes they'll find the suite decorated for a newly married couple too. How embarrassing. 

Jun looks amused. "Thank you," he says, slipping a hand around Sho's waist to pull him closer. He smirks at Sho when their eyes meet. 

_Play along._

Since Jun seems to enjoy it, Sho keeps his mouth shut. They find their suite in the exact state Sho suspected, with petals over the bed, a bottle of wine, and a jacuzzi ready for their use. 

Jun goes straight to the balcony, sighing happily as he looks out. "The view is amazing," he says. 

"It's part of why I picked it," Sho replies. He brings the bottle of wine with him along with two glasses. He pours some for Jun and himself, and they toast to a week of much-deserved rest. 

"Sorry about the rose petals." 

Jun shrugs. "Did you see the stash of condoms and the lube in the bathroom?" He laughs when Sho sputters. "There are also some massage oils and bath salts. They thought of everything!" 

"Shit…" Sho chuckles, feeling his cheeks heat up. 

"It's fine," Jun says. After a pause, he speaks up again, albeit sounding a bit uncertain. "We could use them, you know." 

"What do you mean?" 

"The petals, the jacuzzi… they took so much trouble to set it all up," Jun says, timidly reaching for Sho's arm. "I-If you want, um… we could…" 

He looks into Sho's eyes. Sho can feel how afraid he is, how much courage it took to say those words. He's nervous. He dreads being rejected, but he just took a huge leap, and now he's kind of regretting it because Sho is silent. 

"F-Forget about it, I—" 

"Okay." 

Jun blushes. "Really?" 

"Why not?" Sho smiles at him. "Like you said… it'd be a waste…" 

Jun gasps when Sho pulls him flush against his body. Being this close, Sho can feel how hard his heart is beating. Jun moans when Sho presses his lips against his neck. 

"It'd be such a waste, especially with a man like you sleeping next to me every night," Sho whispers in Jun's ear. 

That's all it takes for Jun to let his desires run wild. 

They spend the whole week vacationing as a couple. Not much changes when they're outside, except for Jun getting a little bolder and holding his hand or circling his waist in public. But in the room, it's different. 

Jun agrees to follow Sho's schedule. Given his stamina, Sho regrets giving him two slots a day to have sex. Jun can be quite demanding. 

After that week, Sho thinks that it isn't that bad to have Jun as a partner. Maybe he'll give it a shot. 

Who knows? It might even work out in the end. 

Jun's twelve thousandth day is on July 7th, 2016. 

How does Sho know? Well, he spent the night of July 6th, 2016 with Jun. They met after work for dinner, as they've been doing every evening for the last few months, but Jun said he wanted to cook for Sho this time. So they went to Jun's place, cooked together, had dinner while talking about their day, drank some wine on the couch… and then they ended up in Jun's bed despite having said they wouldn't have sex because they had to work early the next day. 

(They have very little self-restraint, especially after some liquor is in their system.) 

Sho wakes up to an incredibly loud alarm ringing in his ears. The offending clock is on top of a shelf on the other side of the room, so he has to get out of bed. He smashes the snooze button a little harder than needed (he doesn't break it, thank goodness), and then goes back to bed where Jun is now sitting up and rubbing his eyes tiredly. 

Sho always finds him cute in the mornings. He hates waking up early—waking up in general, Sho suspects—so he's a bit cranky until after he's had some breakfast. He tries to convince Sho to let him sleep more sometimes, arguing that nobody will tell him off for being late now that he's the boss, but Sho never complies. It often leads to Jun giving him the stink eye until it's time for them to go separate ways, but Sho likes that too. He feels like a weirdo for finding Jun's morning mood endearing, so he never tells anyone, not even Jun. His shielding is so good now that Jun never notices him doing it. 

"What's that alarm for?" Sho asks. He grins when Jun just grumbles and leans his head on Sho's shoulder. "It's not the usual one." 

"It's my thousandth-day reminder," Jun mumbles. "Today's my twelve thousandth day." 

"And? Did a new mark appear?" 

Jun rolls his eyes at him. "Idiot." 

"It's a serious question, Jun-san!" Sho replies. "What if you have two soulmates now?" 

Jun gives him an unimpressed look. "You jest, but I'd dump your sorry ass if I suddenly got a different soulmate." 

Sho fakes a surprised gasp. "That hurt, Jun-san. Don't ever say that!" 

Jun grins and pulls him for a kiss. "So… what's for breakfast?" 

It's been five months since Jun deemed Sho responsible enough to have unrestricted access to his kitchen. He had heard some horror stories about Sho's cooking from both Sho's friends and family, so he didn't trust Sho to even touch any of his precious cooking utensils at first. It took at least five homemade meals, prepared at Sho's apartment, of course, for him to be convinced that Sho wasn't going to destroy his favorite pots and pans or give him food poisoning. 

(Teenage Sho _would_ have set half the kitchen on fire or served him something inedible. There was a reason Sho still had a reputation of being a terrible cook.) 

Given Jun's disposition in the mornings, Sho usually makes breakfast whenever they spend the night together. It's always something simple, although lately he's been trying more _fancy_ recipes. Jun never complains about the food anyway. That's a first for Sho, to find someone who appreciates his attempts at cooking, and one of the many little things that he likes about Jun. 

He feels that he discovers a new thing he likes about Jun each passing day. That's another thing he keeps to himself. 

"Why do you still have a thousandth-day reminder set up?" Sho asks Jun during breakfast. He made pancakes. He tried to make them look like Anpanman, but Jun laughingly pointed out that they look more like Jigsaw's mask from that horror movie Saw. He said they were delicious, so Sho is satisfied. 

"Every thousand days, something important happens with your soulmate," Jun says with a serious expression. "I know you think some soulmate beliefs are only superstitions, but it's true." 

"You think something important will happen to us today?" Sho arches an eyebrow. 

"I don't just 'think' it'll happen. I know it will," Jun replies confidently. "Just wait and see." 

"What if I sabotage it now that I know it too?" 

Jun gives Sho an amused look. "You can't escape destiny, Sho-kun." 

_That's what you think,_ Sho muses to himself. He's never been the type to just lower his head and obey, so he won't do it now. His firm purpose that morning as he leaves Jun's apartment is to make the rest of their day as unremarkable as possible. 

Except that today is Tanabata. 

There's a festival in full swing at Shitamachi, not far from Sho's workplace. There will be a parade next Saturday, but people are already celebrating. Jun hears of it—of course he hears of it—and asks Sho if they can go together. Sho can't say no, not with the tone Jun uses when asking on the phone. He sounds so happy, as though he thinks that whatever is supposed to happen today might be related to the festival. Sho can't kill his hope like that, wouldn't dare to do something so cruel. 

He goes into a meeting with the CEO—his mother—right after hanging up. They discuss some work-related things for a while, go over a handful of contracts that need to be signed. Sho's mother has some new high-profile clients who have requested Cherry Blossom's services. She wants Sho to oversee the planning himself—yes, they're that high-profile. She even debates the possibility of asking Jun and his team to take over. Not that the others aren't good, but Jun's excellence is already well-known. 

"By the way, how are things going between you two?" 

Sho laughs. She's been waiting to ask this during the entire meeting, hasn't she? Out of all the people close to him and Jun, Sho suspects his mother is the most invested in the progress of their relationship. 

"We're fine," Sho says, "same as usual." 

"I heard you're planning to go on a trip together, is that true?" 

Indeed, they are. Sho wonder who his mother's source is because she 'hears' a lot about their plans before Sho can even bring them up in conversation. Sometimes he thinks it's Jun, some others he realizes it could be Nino. His mother has always called him 'Kazu-chan' after all. Or it could be Jun's mother, as they're friends. In their last visit to Jun's parents' place, Jun's mom told Sho that she has been in touch with his mother from the time they were temporarily neighbors around thirty years ago and that they attend some clubs for their varied hobbies together. 

In any case, he can't deny it now that she's asking. 

"Jun-san wants to see some concerts. He says it'll help him get inspiration for his job," Sho replies. 

They've been to around five or six concerts together since last year. Jun has a horrible tendency to say he only took Sho with him because he 'coincidentally' had an extra ticket. Yeah, right. Why would anyone buy two tickets if they weren't planning to go with someone in the first place? 

(Some are courtesy tickets, but still.) 

"He hasn't told me where he's going next, but I think it's either Germany or Spain," Sho continues. "Or, well, those are the travel guides he told me to purchase anyway." 

Sho's mother hums. "Well, if you end up going to Germany, tell your father to let you stay at his penthouse in Berlin," she says. "He bought it to stay there every time he visits his soulmate." 

"Ah, okay… wait!" Sho gasps. "His soulmate!? How!? When did this happen?" 

Sho's mother laughs at his shocked expression. She seems very satisfied with the way Sho replied to that _bomb._

"It turns out that his soulmate is a Russian businessman," she says. "We had figured the Russian part out years ago, but what we didn't expect was that he'd be living in Germany. Your father met him on one of his trips last January." 

"Whoa…" 

"He's a very nice guy. Married, has three children and one granddaughter," Sho's mother continues. "We had lunch together—your father, his soulmate, his soulmate's wife and I. Since your father and his soulmate are so curious about telepathic bonds, they agreed to visit each other a few times a year. They've become really good friends in no time." 

"That's… it's good, right?" 

"I'm very happy for him," Sho's mother says with a sad smile. "Kind of jealous too, actually, but that might just be the side of me that hates losing to him on anything. I might even go on a trip to India to see if I can find my soulmate too." 

Her mark is written in Hindi. She's been taking lessons, but she can't read what it says yet. Perhaps her soulmate's penmanship isn't very good. She jokes that maybe they're better off not meeting in that case, as she wouldn't tolerate that. Calligraphy is one of her passions. 

"Please don't do anything rash, mother." 

She laughs. Something tells him that she'll do as she pleases anyway. 

The topic goes back to Jun. Sho's mother wants to know why they still aren't living together if they spend so much time at each other's place. Privacy, Sho tells her. They like having their space, to know they don't have to be together all the time. It's what suits them best at this point. They haven't put a label on their relationship. They sleep together and go out together, they're _soulmates,_ but they don't call each other 'boyfriend' or 'partner'. They've never discussed what they feel for each other, further than that time drunken Jun told his friends there's "no love" between them, that he and Sho "loved each other but weren't in love" or some shit like that. 

It annoyed him, alright. But even he had to admit that drunken Jun was probably right. 

Nino and Ohno are glad that Sho is taking his time. "We were afraid that you were on the rebound when you and J went to Hawaii," Nino told him like a month ago. "But since it's lasted this much, I guess we were wrong." 

Jun's other friends, led by Toma and Shun, celebrated the day Jun told them he and Sho were "kind of seeing each other"—no, really, Jun's way of referring to details of their relationship sometimes makes Sho get pissed, what does he mean 'kind of'? 

"Please don't listen to him," Toma said the day Jun got drunk and started blabbering about their relationship. "He says strange things when he's drunk. And he's a massive tsundere, so there's also that." 

Yeah, Sho knows. More often than not Jun says things that sound mean and are the complete opposite of what he's thinking, especially when he's talking to or about Sho. But when he said "no love," there wasn't any contradiction in his mind. Not that Sho will tell anyone. 

Aiba has advised Sho to clarify things with Jun as soon as possible. "Better now that when it's too late and you're too invested in the relationship," he says. "I think he's into you, but he might be waiting for you to say it first." 

"To say what first?" 

"That you love him, of course!" 

Now… that's something Sho wouldn't say. First, because it isn't true. He's not in love with Jun. He cares about him deeply and enjoys spending time with him, but that's just what he'd do with any other friend. He's a friend who has sex with him sometimes and can read his mind. Literally. 

Second, it's not Sho's style. He never told any of his past partners that he loved them, even though he _was_ in love with at least one or two of them. To be fair, some of them didn't say it either because "they were saving those words for their soulmate" which Sho thinks is despicable. He's glad he didn't waste his first "I love you" on any of them. 

And third… he's scared of what would happen if he says it and Jun doesn't reciprocate. He's been digging deep into Jun's mind lately, to see if there's any sign that Jun might be in love with him. He's found nothing. Jun cares, _a lot._ Jun wants to make him happy. Jun thinks about him more often than Sho expected. Jun _desires_ him. But _love,_ the explicit feeling that cannot be mistaken for anything else, isn't anywhere. 

"Huh… that must be why it's so hard for you to accept you might be falling for him," was Aiba's conclusion of Sho's analysis. 

He's wrong, of course. Sho sticks to his version where what they have is just a deep friendship with sex on the side. 

Back to his mom: she doesn't need to know any of that. So he tells her the same thing they've been saying since Jun's parents started asking too: 

"We're trying to find a good time to do it. I'll finish paying for my apartment at the end of the year, but Jun's stupid 5-year lease than I'm not even sure is legal expires in 2019." 

What she hears, however, is: 

"Oh! You've stopped using honorifics with each other? That's great!" 

(They haven't unless they're in bed because calling him 'Jun-san' while they're touching each other's dicks is kind of weird in his opinion. It slips past his lips sometimes in other settings, though.) 

The meeting ends shortly after when Sho's mother's assistant comes in to inform her the preparations for " _that thing_ they discussed the other day" are done. Sho's mother waves her to come closer and they giggle as they look at something on a tablet, whispering behind their hands. 

Sho doesn't want to know. At all. 

He leaves because it's late and Jun must be waiting for him. Half an hour later, he gets to the street where the festival is taking place. There are lots of people, noisily prancing around the numerous food stalls. There are colorful decorations hanging everywhere and loud music. It's pretty cheerful. 

Jun is having a spicy dish. He put too much in his mouth and is now coughing and fanning himself. Sho swears he can feel it too. He starts sweating just by seeing Jun. 

(No, really, he _felt_ that!) 

Jun's mouth is full when Sho approaches him, so all he gets for a greeting are high-pitched hums and wild gestures. He points at what he's having and gives Sho a thumbs up, then hands Sho his chopsticks excitedly as he continues munching. 

Sho laughs. Jun has cute moments like that. 

"Isn't it too strong?" Sho asks. At Jun's response (shaking his head because he isn't done swallowing), he takes a little bite. It's spicier than it seems, but it's very good. Before he can take more, however, Jun snatches away the chopsticks to continue eating. 

They visit at least four different food stalls. Jun steals from Sho's plate various times, saying he found Sho's choices more interesting after they had already ordered. Sho doesn't mind sharing, although Jun gives him none of the anago tempura he buys in the last stall. 

Jun hands him a tanzaku to write his wish. They both hang it in a nearby tree, among hundreds of others. 

"What did you wish for?" Sho asks. 

Jun shrugs and intertwines their fingers. 

They go home much later. Sho feels tired, but Jun is so radiant that he thinks it was worth it. As they're lying in bed side by side, Sho asks: 

"So… did anything special happen today after all? I mean… it was pretty normal, wasn't it?" 

Jun looks at him with a smile. 

"It sure did." 

August 2017. 

It's been almost three years since Sho woke up and found Jun's signature written on his wrist. A lot has changed since then in his life. 

First of all, his mother has privately told him that she's going to retire after next year. "You could be the new CEO. Of course, that's not up to me but the board," she said that time. It was a surprise at the moment, but after slowly piecing together the last couple of years, it makes a lot of sense. 

After Sho's parents got divorced, she's been feeling lonely. She doesn't say it, she's too proud for that. She's been traveling more, all by herself. Sho suspects she's been to India more times than she admits. He doesn't comment on it, though. She's a grown woman, wealthy as fuck. She can do whatever she wants. 

Sho's father, on the other hand, might have a crush on his soulmate. It didn't seem to be one-sided when Sho finally met the guy (it was during his trip to Germany with Jun). The thing is, Sho's father's soulmate is still married. His wife is an absolute angel. It's complicated, and Sho can only keep his fingers crossed that everything will be alright in the end for the three of them. He still can't believe that the same man who gave him hell when he came out as a teen is now falling for a man. Life sure has a way to throw unexpected twists at people like that. 

(Sho remembers that his friend Tsumabuki once shared a 'theory' with him that Sho's dad was either gay or bi, but in denial. Now that doesn't sound so wild.) 

Aiba Masaki, the man Sho planned to marry back when his soulmate mark appeared, has been coming to see him lately for advice very often. His soulmate, Kazama Shunsuke, met him by coincidence at a temple on Hatsumode this year. Kazama was widowed on October 31st, 2015, just one day before his soulmate mark appeared. The coincidence of the dates is so eerie that even Sho thought it was terrifying. 

"We've been having a hard time with our bond," Aiba says in one of their 'counseling' sessions. "Kazapon is still mourning, says he's not ready to have any kind of long-term relationship with anyone yet, much less something as permanent as a soulmate." 

Sho tells him to give it time. They've found each other, and that's arguably the hardest part for any pair of soulmates. "Look at my mom. She's almost sixty and she hasn't found hers! Telepathy can be cultivated." 

Aiba's frustration doesn't cease, though. He's been hanging out a lot with Nino and Satoshi, which may be contributing to the problem. Those two are the most shameless couple Sho's ever met. Now that they can feel each other at a distance and have conversations in their mind, it's been harder to be around them. Satoshi, who used to be so quiet, has become a lot more Nino-like in his manner of speaking to others. That is: he has absolutely no filter, not that he had much of that before. 

"You guys should fuck," Satoshi suggests one night. He's drunk and giggly at the moment, so Sho can excuse his bluntness and lack of consideration for poor Kazama, who almost chokes on his beer. "That'll make telepathy work instantly." 

Aiba bursts out laughing—also drunk, which is great because he won't remember any of this come morning, and that'd be the best for everyone. "That wouldn't be such a bad idea, Oh-chan!" he slurs, giggling as he leans towards Kazama. "What do you say?" 

"I think that's your last beer of the night, Ma-kun," Kazama replies with a smile. He seems to be very fond of Aiba. He's also very prudent. "We'll discuss it when you're sober." 

"Promise?" Aiba puppy eyes him. 

"Promise, yes." 

Jun clears his throat. "I think sex has nothing to do with your bond," he says. "Sho-san and I didn't have much physical contact at first, but our bond still got very strong in little time." 

"That's not fair!" Satoshi whines. "Toma-kun told us that you've been pining over Sho-chan since age twelve, that doesn't count!" 

"Yes, J," Nino nods in agreement. "If you've loved someone for years, it's a lot easier to reach that level of bonding in just a few months." 

Jun blushes to the tips of his ears. "I'm not in love with Sho-san! And if that's so, then why did it take years for you to read each other's minds then?" 

"We just had trouble concentrating!" 

Sho prefers to stay out of that kind of conversation. He might be good at telepathy, but he's no expert in love matters. He can't even tell whether Jun's lying or not when he says that there are no romantic feelings on his side. The answer should be a clear _no._ Sho can read Jun's mind and feel his emotions, and nothing has changed on that front since they found out they were soulmates. There hasn't even been a spark of jealousy after that time Sho covered his soulmate mark. He has gone out on a few dates the last year—he's never gone on a second date with those men despite them showing interest—but Jun hasn't said a thing. 

"I don't mind if you want to date someone," was all he told Sho when a guy asked Sho out at a party they both attended. "Go ahead, have fun." 

He wasn't being a tsundere. His mind was blank when he said that. 

Sho has tried but, as Aiba warned him once, it seems nobody other than Jun can satisfy him now. They don't keep up with Sho's conversation topics like Jun does. They don't enjoy food the way Jun does. They can't tolerate Sho's schedules, unlike Jun. And so on. Even the most minimal difference makes Sho feel like the date is a total disaster. He's gotten too used to it, to what he and Jun call 'the usual' now. 

He used to hate getting calls from Jun late at night. Now he waits up for them every time they don't sleep together, which is rare since last year. And if they're together, he's made it a habit to make Jun tell him everything frustrating about his day as they cuddle in bed. He's found that Jun rests a lot better when he does that. 

He used to travel by himself. Now, Jun is his permanent travel companion. They can spend weeks planning all the details, and it's so much fun that Sho finds himself enjoying this part almost as much as he enjoys going on their actual trips. Despite teasing Sho for his tendencies to control every single minute of the day, Jun appreciates the effort behind it. 

He used to like his 'flying solo' lifestyle very much. He still does, but he finds himself wanting to have Jun by his side more often than not. His friends have noticed, but they're wise enough to never comment on it. Instead, they tell him that they really like Jun, and they invite Jun directly to join them whenever they ask Sho to go somewhere with them. His family has taken that approach too. Sho has to admit he feels less pressured this way. 

He doesn't know whether Jun is satisfied with their relationship or not. Sometimes he feels that Jun may want more, but there's no way to be reassured of that. 

"How about you just ask him?" Ohno suggests. 

It's a week before Jun's birthday when he says that. Sho has already bought him a present and is currently hiding it in his apartment under his jeans-looking sweatpants and several camo print clothing items—the only drawer in his closet where Jun would _never_ take a look unless it's to tell him to burn it all. 

"He's always so adamant about there being no love between us. If he was into me, he wouldn't say that all the time." 

"Seriously, Sho-chan…" Satoshi sighs. "He says that so that you don't suspect. But _everyone_ can tell it's a lie. Why can't you?" 

"What if everyone's misunderstanding what he does and I'm the only one who can see his true intentions?" 

Satoshi snorts. "Nah, that's not it." 

That same evening, Sho finds another alarm clock in Jun's room. He frowns, noticing it's not the one that counts Jun's days. It shows that there are a few days left before the thirteen thousandth day. 

"Whose thousandth-day reminder is this?" 

"Yours." 

He almost drops the thing when he hears Jun behind him. Jun laughs and takes the clock, setting it back next to the one with his day count. 

"You have a clock with my reminders? Why?" 

"I told you, didn't I? Every thousand days, something important happens between two soulmates," Jun replies. "And this time, your thousand days are up the day before my birthday." 

"Oh?" 

Jun nods. "I'm looking forward to it," he says, his eyes sparkling as he looks at Sho. 

Unlike last time, Sho doesn't feel like trying to 'sabotage' destiny. Jun claims that the last time was _amazing,_ although he doesn't go into details about why exactly he thought there was anything special about that day. Sho thinks that maybe it's subjective, so there's no point in trying to ruin it for him. He likes Jun best when he's happy anyway. 

"Let's go out that day," Sho says. "Let's do something different." 

Jun gives him a surprised look. "Are you sure?" 

"Why not?" Sho shrugs. "It's not like my efforts to ruin it last time had any effect, so we might as well enjoy it on purpose, don't you think?" 

Jun laughs and cups his face for a kiss. "Won't it be tough on you, though? You'll have to prepare something special for me two days in a row." 

"Oh, so you're expecting me to do something for your birthday too?" 

Jun rolls his eyes. "I'm not," he says. "I _know_ it for sure that you're planning something. You've been very mysterious about that drawer with the hideous clothes lately." 

"That? Trust me, it's nothing special." 

"I don't believe you." 

And he shouldn't. 

Because, of all things, Sho plans to give him a _ring_ right when it's been exactly a thousand days since they discovered they're soulmates. He's not proposing or anything, not at all. He just walked by a jewelry one day, saw that shiny gold ring with a huge amethyst and it immediately made him think of Jun, so he bought it. It's been a while since he gave Jun any jewelry anyway. It may not be for his wrist but he read somewhere that rings can be pretty significant for soulmates too, so it was a no-brainer for him. 

Maybe destiny does get away with things sometimes. 

They have to work on August 29th. 

That makes it tricky for Sho to find something _different_ to do together, but he’s never been one to give up when facing a challenge. After hours of searching, however, he books what he thinks is the _perfect_ activity to do as a couple. 

"Chocolate-making?" 

Sho gives Jun a smug look. "See, there's this famous chocolatier who will open his kitchen to exactly six people just for tonight. And he'll show us how to make one of his signature bonbons. We get to taste at least ten of his newest creations _and_ to bring a box of chocolates home with us." 

Jun hums as he looks at the tickets Sho purchased. "And what will we do after this?" he asks, staring into Sho's eyes. 

"You'll see," Sho replies with a wink. 

Jun pouts at him but still follows Sho to his car. He's wearing new clothes—he probably got them especially for tonight, and Sho can't help thinking that's so sweet of him. Sho is in one of his usual suits. He regrets not wearing anything special as well. 

The shop is called _Ricdor,_ and it's located in Roppongi. Jun is impressed by how elegant everything looks. He had never been there (Sho's only been once after seeing that they were going to have that activity last week). Two young men greet the six special guests and guide them to the kitchen. 

The shop's owner is a man called Sato Ryuta. He has a friendly face. He starts by explaining the basics about chocolate types, passing some around so that they can see what he means by themselves. Jun is fascinated. He's taking note of everything, even asking Sato to repeat things he didn't catch at first. Sho feels at that moment that he succeeded in finding something different as he promised. 

Tempering seems hard. Sho is the first of the group to attempt it, but he's no good. Jun goes right after him, and it's like he's a natural at it. He gets praised by everyone, which makes Sho feel quite proud of him. The rest of the process happens to be a lot easier. Jun gets in a playful mood as they're making the filling for their bonbons. He bumps his shoulders against Sho's, pinches his side when no one's looking. He's enjoying himself and it shows. 

After the bonbons are finished, the two young men who greeted them at the entrance come in, accompanied by a third one they hadn't seen so far. Each of them carries a large tray. The first one has ten cocktails; the second one, assorted chocolates that look like gemstones; and the third one, ten small plates. Both the cocktails and the food contain chocolate, as the owner informs them. 

They sit down around a large table, including the owner and his staff. It turns out that the other four guests present are also couples, but only Sho and Jun are soulmates. Everyone seems impressed with that. Out of the people old enough to have soulmate marks, only Sato has met his soulmate. 

"She's in Belgium. She calls me every morning," he says. "We're good friends since we met while working as a French chocolatier's apprentices. I moved back to Japan before her twelve thousandth day came. If you ever go to Brussels, you should stop by her shop. It's the absolute _best_ chocolate you'll ever have. Even better than mine, I'm afraid. It'll blow your minds." 

It's moments like this that make Sho feel so lucky to have Jun in his life. They have what so many people wish for. He has learned to appreciate it more as time passes. 

"You know, we talked for the first time on her eight thousandth day," Sato says. "But then, we realized that despite living in two different continents, our paths have been crossing ever since we were kids." 

Sho's eyes go wide. "What? How come?" 

Sato grins sheepishly. "We both have kept diaries since our four thousandth day. We write down what happens in extreme detail," he explains. "After our marks appeared, we sat down one day to compare diaries and realized that, indeed, we had been at the same place every time either my or her thousandth day came. We even noticed there's a possibility that we may have talked all those times!" 

"That's amazing!" a young woman, one of the guests, exclaims. "I've been keeping a diary like that too! My mark hasn't appeared, but maybe it'll work for me?" 

"It will," Jun replies. "It's all true." 

Sato flashes a smile at him. "Have you two kept diaries too?" 

"I have," Jun nods. "And as you said, our paths crossed multiple times before the day we say we 'met'. It goes back to our first thousandth day." 

There are gasps of surprise. Everyone seems curious about why Jun knows it goes that far back, including Sho. He had no idea that Jun kept a diary—but of course he does, he _loves_ this kind of thing. 

Jun's ears get a little pink. "My mom started keeping a diary for me and my sister from our first thousandth day. It's kind of a family tradition; her mom did it for her and her siblings too," he says. "And on that day, she was going to a book club but couldn't leave me at home. Turns out another woman had to take her son there too, as his babysitter wasn't available to take care of him after daycare was over." 

Sho gasped. "Wait… is that the same book club my mom used to attend?" 

Jun giggles. "Mom says that she thought I'd make trouble, but you were very nice and played with me the entire time." 

There's some cooing from the others, which makes both Sho and Jun get a bit embarrassed. Then they start debating whether it happens to all soulmates, with everyone agreeing that it's very likely. Nobody ever notices because most people don't keep a record, but perhaps if everyone looks back, they'll notice that their soulmate has always been lurking around, one way or another. 

(Sho thinks he'll tell his mother about this. It might help her.) 

The ones who have marks say they'll set a reminder for their next thousandth day, and that they'll keep their eyes open so that they don't miss the meeting this time. 

They keep a cheerful conversation as they have their food and drinks. After they're done, the owner hands each of them a beautifully decorated chocolate box. He gives Jun an additional smaller one, winking at him. 

"What's that?" Sho asks as they're walking out. 

Jun is laughing as he holds up the box to show it to him. After reading, Sho has to laugh too. 

_Spicy chocolate fondue. Best eaten on smooth skin._

"Isn't that a little bit cliché? The whole eating chocolate off your partner during sex?" 

"Maybe… but we've never done it before," Jun points out. "Isn't tonight about doing 'different' things?" 

They head to Sho's place. While Jun seems eager to try the fondue (his thoughts have been plagued with it ever since he received the box), he lets Sho do things at his own pace. They cuddle on the couch, listening to soft music. The lights are low, Sho lit a few scented candles. Jun seems perfectly relaxed. The timing couldn't be better for Sho to give him his gift. 

He's been carrying the little box in his pocket the entire day. Jun, however, hadn't noticed, as he's quite surprised when Sho takes it out. 

"It's not an engagement ring," Sho clarifies as he opens it. "But I hope that doesn't make it any less special." 

Jun holds out his hand. He's shaking as Sho slides the ring into his ring finger. A perfect fit. 

"Happy one-thousandth day anniversary," Sho says. 

Jun gulps, laughing as he pulls Sho into a hug. "I wasn't expecting this." 

"I counted on it!" Sho chuckles. "This was going to be your birthday gift, actually. But since it's been one thousand days since our marks appeared, I decided to give it to you one day earlier than I planned." 

"Thank you," Jun says. "I love it." 

"I had to get you another birthday gift. Fair warning, you may not like it as much as this one _but_ we could do one of those 'couple looks' that people do on social media." 

Jun shakes his head, grinning. "You know, I don't mind that this time." 

Oh, he _will_ mind after he sees the dinosaur hats Sho got for them. And he'll bring out the tacky Louboutin shoes that have been on Jun's wishlist for months after teasing him for a while. 

In the meantime, there's a chocolate fondue waiting for them. 

It's Jun's thirteen thousandth day when Sho's sister, Mai, gets married. April 3rd, 2019. 

Sho has been planning the event himself for the last six months. Mai's soulmate mark appeared last year. Her best friend, a lovely woman who's three years older than her, had her twelve thousandth day and discovered that they're soulmates. They wasted no time in becoming a couple and getting engaged. 

(Mai has been a closeted lesbian all this time, perhaps due to their father's reaction when Sho came out. Now it makes sense that she never showed any interest in the men that tried to woo her, but always had _very close_ female friends. Sho wonders how many of the girls she brought home along the years were actually dating her.) 

The garden they chose for the ceremony is surrounded by beautiful cherry trees in full bloom. It creates a very romantic atmosphere. 

Aside from family members, there are very few men among the guests. Nino and Ohno are attending the wedding because they'll perform a song for the happy couple, as Sho's new sister-in-law is a huge fan of them. Aiba was invited too since he and Mai became good friends while he was engaged to Sho. His plus one is Kazama, of course, who has been getting closer to Aiba lately (they might start dating soon if Aiba's reports on their relationship's progress are anything to go by). And, well, Jun is attending as part of Mai's family. 

The Sakurai family has been very welcoming to Jun. Sho suspects some of his aunties like Jun better than they ever liked him, not that he can blame them. Jun is charming and has the patience of a saint when it comes to listening old ladies talk. Sho, on the other hand, was a terror when he was a teen, and nobody will ever let him forget that. 

Poor Jun is having a hard time with his allergies this year, but he made an effort to be present at the wedding ceremony. He's wearing a face mask the entire time and took the strongest pills his doctor could recommend just to make sure he'd be fine. He leans on Sho's shoulder the entire time, holding Sho's hand to feel a little better. 

Like Ohno said once, it _does_ work. Sho has stopped questioning 'soulmate myths' until he and Jun test them for themselves. 

Everyone cheers after the two women are pronounced married. They move indoors for the reception, where they'll have brunch. 

"Ah, I was dying out there!" Jun grumbles as they get to their assigned table. 

"Me too!" Aiba adds, whining while he removes his face mask. 

The two of them have been getting along better in the last couple of years. Whatever it was that Aiba said and ended up offending Jun, it seems he has been forgiven. It was only expected, as they're working hand in hand to produce so many concerts for J-storm's talents. 

Sho has gone to a few of the concerts Jun produced, usually the ones held at Tokyo Dome. Jun is usually next to him, taking notes frantically. Sho teases him that that's no way to enjoy a concert, but Jun disagrees. 

Sometimes Sho worries about Jun's workload. He knows Jun doesn't go home some days, that when a group's tour starts, he often foregoes proper rest to be in meetings and rehearsals all the time. He wishes there was something he could do, other than picking Jun up at his office a couple of times a week to get dinner and ensure he sleeps. Moving in together could be a good solution. He'll make sure to mention it now that Jun's lease will end. 

The food is pretty great, and so is the company. It's almost an hour later when, after a speech, the two brides ask all the single people present to stand up because they'll throw their bouquets. They demand that the few men present join too when they notice that none of them have stood up. 

There seems to be an agreement among everyone to let the ones who look like they actually want the bouquet to go in front—that includes Aiba and Ohno today, for instance. There's chaos, as expected, but they all seem to be having fun. 

When Mai throws her bouquet, it's caught by a tall woman, who immediately goes to celebrate with her much shorter girlfriend. When Mai's wife does, however, something surprising happens. 

It hits Jun dead on his face. 

He starts sneezing, due to the pollen, and hands the bouquet to Sho right away. Sho is honestly more concerned with seeing that he's breathing okay than with the fact that Jun caught the second bouquet. 

"Jun, are you alright?" 

Jun sneezes into a handkerchief. "What do you think?" 

Sho laughs and sets the bouquet on a table, far from Jun. It takes a little while for him to recover. They get some congratulations from the other guests, but neither of them comments on the tradition that says whoever catches the bouquet will marry next. 

"For starters, that's a western myth," Jun says as they discuss it later that night, back at home. "What business do we have with that?" 

"So soulmate myths are okay, but western myths are not?" 

"It's not a myth if you can prove it's true," Jun replies. "Besides, you and I aren't ready for marriage. We're just…" 

Sho blinks when Jun stops himself. "We're just what, Jun-san?" 

"I mean… we don't even live together, Sho-kun. We've never discussed what we feel for each other. We still see other people at times!" 

Right. 

Sho hasn't dated anyone in a while, not that Jun would know. And he's aware of Jun seeing other men. Both times he's ended up with nausea so hard it makes him vomit until his stomach is empty, right before blacking out. Thank goodness Jun hasn't done it again in months. 

Yes, he knows this must be his body's way of reacting to his soulmate, whom he's come to love in the past few years, being with someone else. Jun has no idea that his feelings have long shifted from 'just friends who have casual sex' to _love._ He's been shielding it, scared that Jun will distance himself if he lets it show. After all, Jun has no romantic feelings for him. He's been one-sidedly in love with his soulmate for well over a year already. 

"Sho-san?" Jun frowns. "What's wrong?" 

Sho shakes his head. "Nothing," he lies. "You're right. We're a bad fit as a couple." 

At that, Jun's eyes go wide. He pales and sits down, giving Sho the saddest look ever. "W-What… what do you mean by that? Are… are you… breaking up with me?" 

"No!" Sho sits next to him. 

"Then why did you say that? That we're a bad fit as a couple?" Jun asks, sounding increasingly anxious. "I know you're not in love with me, that I can understand, but I thought… I thought we were doing _well_! I… I thought we…" 

"We _are_!" Sho replies. "Jun-san, of course we are!" 

Jun's anxiety continues to increase, no matter how much Sho assures him that they're just fine the way they are right now. Jun insists that saying they make a bad couple must mean that Sho is dissatisfied with him. 

"T-That's not the kind of thing anyone would tell their _boyfriend_ unless they were planning to break up!" 

Sho freezes after that. He looks intently at Jun, not believing what he just heard. In all this time, it's the first time Jun has ever referred to him as his boyfriend. It's always been soulmate, never any hint to Jun seeing him as something more than that. 

It's enough. 

Sho stops shielding the moment he hears it. He doesn't know for sure whether Jun will reciprocate his feelings or not, but he doesn't care. He lets himself be vulnerable in front of Jun for the very first time. 

Jun gasps, eyes wide as he slowly reaches for Sho's hand. He then closes his eyes, just to open them a second later and glare at Sho. 

"Since when have you been hiding it?" 

"From the moment you started telling people that there was no love between us." 

Jun curses between his teeth. He stands up, his back to Sho as he seemingly prepares to tell Sho something. His rejection, most likely. 

When he turns around, however, he has stopped shielding too. 

"Since when?" Sho returns the question. 

"Since always," Jun replies. 

They can only laugh as they look into each other's eyes. 

They're a pair of idiots. 

It's Saturday when Sho goes to Jun's place. 

Yesterday, Jun and the lady who caught the other bouquet went to a flower preservation specialist, to have them dried and framed. The bouquets are big enough that they can keep one frame for each of them and give an additional one back to the couple. Sho thinks it's a great idea. He agreed to keep it a secret from his sister and sister-in-law, who are currently away on their honeymoon. 

They had planned to meet yesterday after that, but it took so long that they decided to postpone it. Jun said it was better if they started early because the conversation they're about to have is _long._

Today Jun is showing Sho his thousandth-day diary. He said that there's something else he hasn't told Sho, that he hopes it won't creep him out. 

(Sho is certain nothing Jun could say will creep him out, but oh well…) 

When Sho comes in, he can feel Jun's emotions all over the place. Since they stopped shielding, it's been like this. Jun can never feel just one thing at the time. For example, right now he's excited, but he's anxious and fearful at the same time, he's a bit turned on by the way Sho looks in the t-shirt he's wearing, and he's kind of melting just at Sho saying 'hi' to him, which goes to show his shielding had to be pretty strong to hide how in love he is. 

Sho smiles at Jun and circles his waist with his arms. Jun tilts his head, eyes closed as he prepares for a kiss. Sho indulges him, making him grin as they make out with the apartment's door still opened. They go inside when Jun remembers why he was so anxious and breaks the kiss. 

"Come in," he says. 

On the coffee table, there are two books. One of them is purple, with a big 'J' engraved on the cover. The other one is red, and it has nothing written on top. 

"You have two diaries?" 

Jun nods. "The purple is the one my mom started when I was two years old. The red one… I started it when I was thirteen." 

"Did you run out of pages so soon?" 

"No, not at all," Jun replies with a sheepish smile. "It's… I was keeping count of someone else's thousandth days." 

Sho frowns. "Whose?" 

Jun hands him the red book, motioning for Sho to start reading. 

What he finds there is the count of _his_ thousandth days. 

"Did you know that my mother is exactly ten thousand days older than you, Sho-kun?" Jun starts. "Your first thousandth day was on her eleventh thousandth day. I only figured it out after entering your birthday in a reminder clock. It showed me all your past thousandth days, and I realized that they coincided with my mom's. So… I checked her diary, to see if you had crossed paths with us, and I noticed there was always mention of a little boy, just over a year older than me, who was the son of one of my mom's acquaintances and happened to play with me every thousand days." 

It’s all there, written in the book with the red cover. The first time, they were toddlers. Jun's mother and father had bought their first apartment, which happened to be right across the Sakurai family's apartment (they'd move out less than a month later). Sho's mom and dad helped them move in, leaving Sho, Jun and Jun's sister Megumi with a babysitter. The babysitter said that they got along pretty well. 

A thousand days later, Sho fought with his mom and decided to walk home by himself. He was five years old, already in his never-ending rebellious phase. Jun's mom recognized him as she saw him passing by a park. Sho stayed to play with Jun for a while and resumed his walk home after having ice cream with them. Jun's mom informed Sho's mom of his whereabouts at that time. She said Sho's mom was pretty scared. 

A thousand days later, Jun got in trouble at school with some older boys. Sho was the one to alert the teachers. He stayed by Jun's side the entire time, to make sure that he'd be alright. 

A thousand days later, Sho was the one who got in trouble for beating up a kid much bigger than him, who was calling him 'rice grain' or something like that. Jun's mother heard all about it when she went to pick Jun up. That was the year Jun's pollen allergies started. Sho and Jun were both at the infirmary for a while. Sho gave Jun a handkerchief at that time. The other boy just watched from afar, terrified. 

And a thousand days later, Jun joined the soccer team, only to be called an 'insect' by Sho. That was the first conversation between them that Sho remembered. 

"This is pretty impressive!" Sho says. "Why did you start compiling it?" 

"I was six when my mom first explained to me how things worked between soulmates," Jun replies. "I started seeing a pattern in the diary mom kept for me, and it was that you always showed up on the thousandth day. When I was thirteen, after we started getting to know each other, I decided to check if anything happened the next time." 

"And?" 

Jun chuckles. "You became my tutor on my five thousandth day. And then, on your sixth thousandth day, it was the first time we hung out for something other than studying. On my sixth thousandth day, you yelled at me on the phone and told me to never call you at night again. On your seven thousandth day, you promised you'd help me pass the entrance test for your university no matter what you had to do." 

"Whoa…" 

"After that, I just assumed you were my soulmate," Jun says with a smile. "It was hard, though. You didn't seem to like me much, so we never became close friends, but I decided to stick around just in case things changed. I had lost all hope of that by the time my ten thousandth day came." 

Sho takes Jun's hand. He wishes at this moment that his younger self hadn't been so cold to Jun. 

"When your twelve thousandth day came, it caught me off guard. I had stopped expecting it," Jun says. "I wanted for the first time in my life to be wrong so that you'd be someone else's soulmate, but you weren't. Just when I thought I had gotten over you…" 

"Wait, wait, wait…" Sho cuts him off. "Toma was telling the truth? You liked me back then?" 

"I didn't just 'like' you, Sho-kun. I was _in love_ with you," Jun replies seriously. "It annoyed me so much to find out you were my soulmate, especially when you started using telepathy on me despite me telling you explicitly that I didn't want to bond with you." 

"Hey, that was an accident!" Sho defends himself. "I didn't know it'd be so easy!" 

"That's what you get for not studying it!" Jun huffs. "The longer you've been around a soulmate _before_ the mark appears, the easier telepathy will be. Nino was half-right on that! That's why he and Oh-chan took longer than us. They met the year their Ohmiya SK unit debuted." 

"Ah, I see…" Sho nods. "So it's not because I'm good at telepathy?" 

Jun snorts. "You're good at focusing, I'll give you that. But you took way too long to discover how to shield after we started reading each other's minds." 

Sho blushes. He wonders what kind of thoughts Jun was able to read during that period. 

"Oh, there were some true _gems_ there, especially about our boss and your long-winded mental monologues dedicated to shellfish appreciation!" Jun laughs. "Don't worry. Your secrets are safe with me." 

They continue reading Jun's diaries, both diaries, and Sho realizes that he _can_ remember most of those days. The details are blurry, but it's fun to talk about it now. Jun complains every time Sho teases him about his very poor way of dealing with a crush, saying he would have had it much easier if only his crush had told him that he thought he was cute. 

It gets pretty late, as Jun expected, so he tells Sho to stay over for the night. When they are in bed, Sho finally says something he's been meaning to tell Jun for a while. 

"Move in with me." 

Jun looks at him with wide eyes. "What?" 

"Your lease ends this year, doesn't it?" 

"Well, yes, but…" 

"We've finally discussed how we feel about each other, haven't we?" Sho starts. Jun nods, staring right into his eyes. "I don't know about you, but I don't feel like dating anyone else after this." 

"Me neither." 

"Good!" Sho smiles. "See, then there's one thing left for us to do before we consider, you know… _that_ other thing." 

Jun frowns. His face then lights up, his ears going red. "Marriage?" 

"Not now, of course!" Sho laughs. "Maybe when we're forty. Or when we've been together for five thousand days, I don't know! Or never, if you decide you don't like the idea. I don't care." 

He doesn't say the rest, but he knows Jun can hear it. 

_I want to spend my life with you._

Jun beams at him. "Your place is smaller than mine," he says. "The neighborhood is fancier, but I don't know if there's enough space for all my stuff. I have no idea where I'd put my oxygen capsule or my bonsai trees. You don't even have a veranda! And I wanted to move to a place with two bathtubs too!" 

"Two bathtubs?" 

"One for cold water and another one for hot water!" Jun explains. "It's very relaxing!" 

Sho laughs, shaking his head. "There are no apartments like that!" 

"I know! That's why I want a house!" 

Sho hums, observing Jun's serious expression. _Oh, what the heck…_

"Where do you want it?" 

May 25th, 2020. 

Sakurai Sho's fourteen thousandth day of life. 

He groans as he hears the alarm going off in a corner of his room. Jun didn't pack the damn clock with the rest of their belongings, and he suspects that was on purpose. 

They're moving out today. 

Finding a property that had everything Jun wanted was a challenge. If it had been like Jun's _ideal_ house, it would have been _crazy_ expensive, so he had to settle for something more realistic—not that it wasn't fancy because, well, this is _Jun_ after all. 

It's a short drive away from Ohno and Nino's place. Jun complains that Sho shouldn't have given them the address, that now Nino will barge into their home without prior notice the way he does at Aiba and Kazama's place, and then Ohno will come to pick him up but he'll end up eating all their food, especially Sho's beloved cheesecake, and falling asleep on their couch. 

And yet, Jun still made sure that they'll have a video game console set up in their living room, despite them not playing video games that often, and that the blanket that Ohno likes so much when he's napping will have a special spot on their comfiest chair. 

When Sho gets out of the bedroom, Nino, Ohno, and Aiba are already there, laughing with Jun in the kitchen. They brought breakfast, how thoughtful. 

Everything has been packed during the last week, per Jun's instructions. He has a 'system', he told Sho so months ago, back when he moved into Sho's apartment. All that's left is for Sho to get ready and they'll start loading the boxes into the truck, which should be here in an hour or so. 

Jun greets him with a morning kiss, while their friends whistle and tell them to get a room. Ever since Sho and Jun told them that they'd move in together, they tease them every time they can, but Jun isn't bothered by it. 

It takes about six hours to move everything to the new house. It's a medium-sized house: one master bedroom with a private bathroom (they remodeled the bathroom, so it has _two_ bathtubs, as Jun wished) and a walk-in closet that Sho is half-sure Jun will fill with mostly his clothes, two smaller bedrooms, one bathroom in the second floor and another one in the first floor, an open-concept first floor with a rather large kitchen and a space reserved for Jun's bonsai (the cherry blossom bonsai withered last year, Jun is still mourning it. Sho wants to get him a new one soon). The back door opens to a small garden, which still needs a lot of work but Jun is determined to make it look good, as attested by all the gardening books and tools he's purchased recently. 

Kazama shows up around the time they end moving the boxes and furniture inside the house. He brings tacos from a restaurant that Jun has been favoring lately. Jun is so happy he almost jumps on the guy. 

They end up eating and drinking for a couple of hours, laughing as Jun shows each of them the 'correct' way to eat tacos. Jun puts a lot of coriander in Sho's taco as retaliation. It backfires because, despite not being a fan of coriander, Sho finds it does taste well in a taco. 

They say their goodbyes pretty late. Almost everything is organized by then, except for Jun's clothes, their books, and Sho's snow globe collection. They'll take care of that tomorrow. 

As they slip into bed, Jun hands Sho the red book. "I know you dislike this, but do you think you could give it a try?" he asks. "I could keep doing it if you prefer." 

Sho takes the book and starts writing under Jun's watch. He grins when Jun whispers some details he's forgetting in his ear, smirks when Jun complains that he is so _not_ obsessed with tacos despite buying so many tortillas lately. 

"I think your perfect food will be something like an anago taco with steak sauce," Sho says jokingly. 

Jun furrows his eyebrows for a moment. "Huh… it wouldn't have occurred to me to do something like that…" 

"Wait, you're actually thinking of making them?" 

"Not with the steak sauce, of course," Jun replies, a bit exasperated. "Tacos need _salsa_! I'm not an animal!" 

Sho promises to get the anago and more tortillas in his next visit to the grocery store. Jun starts listing all the other things he needs to buy as well. They'll have a taco party next Sunday when their friends and family drop by. Sho's mother followed his advice and finally met her soulmate. Sho is looking forward to finding out what kind of person would be the 'perfect match' for her. 

Jun is looking pretty exhausted. He smiles at Sho before closing his eyes. 

_I love you._

Sho grins and kisses Jun's temple, snuggling up to him. 

_I love you too._


End file.
